Honda HRC Castrol began Saturday in Germany with clear targets to achieve, Joan Mir and Luca Marini both making it through a treacherous Sprint race in 14th and 16th.
Hopeful of delivering on his untapped potential from Friday, Joan Mir was quick to get out on track to understand the wet conditions in Free Practice 2. Experimenting with a different setup option, the #36 collected significant data but was unable to replicate his feeling around the 3.67-kilometre track he had in the dry. Qualifying down in 17th, Mir was able to make some progress in the Sprint and ended in 14th after spending much of the race chasing down Raul Fernandez. The 2020 MotoGP World Champion is hoping for better weather come Sunday as he gears up to do battle around the tightest track on the calendar.
Luca Marini was able to get the best of his Honda HRC Castrol teammate in Q1, the Italian earning 15th in the wet conditions. Starting from 14th on the grid due to the withdrawal of Viñales, Marini played it safe throughout the entire 15-lap dash and brought his Honda RC213V home in 16th. Able to understand more about his physical condition over the longer run, Marini continued to prepare for Sunday’s longer 30-lap Grand Prix. No matter the weather tomorrow, Marini still has a few items to check off his list from the weekend.
Wet or dry, it is crucial that Honda HRC Castrol make another step forward and leave Germany with positive momentum before traveling to Brno for the next round. At 30 laps long, the MotoGP riders will turn left 300 times in less than an hour of track action after the lights go out at 14:00 Local Time.
Joan Mir
14th
“This morning we went the wrong direction with the base setup, so we took some time to find our speed in the wet. For the race we went the direction that we were feeling stronger with in the past, but we had similar problems to in the dry. We didn’t have the grip or the turning. Luca and Johann went with the medium front but after our morning I stayed with the soft to see how it was. So like this it was all about surviving the race, at least we were able to learn and confirm a lot of things. Now let’s hope for dry conditions on Sunday and see how far forward we can fight.”
Luca Marini
16th
“I am happy to have completed the full Sprint; I was able to understand my condition well. Still I am compensating for my lack of strength with other areas and the wet certainly made it more manageable. Our performance was not linked to my fitness honestly. In the morning the medium tyre was very strong, and this is why Zarco, and I went with it but the feeling wasn’t the same. We need to check tonight and try again tomorrow. If it’s still wet in the morning we’ll try the soft, but let’s see how the weather behaves overnight.”
