Luca Marini kept focused amidst the chaos to produce an eighth-place finish in Austin, Joan Mir suffering an unfortunate fall on the second Honda HRC Castrol machine.
Wet, dry, wet and dry again – the minutes before the lights went out were some of the most unexpected in recent time, a dramatic start to what many had predicted to be a hot race as light but consistent rain fall saw half of the grid enact last-minute bike swaps moment before the sighting lap began. As a result, race direction red flagged the start and all riders returned to the grid with slicks as conditions continued to improve.
With the grid reset and the race distance reduced to 19 laps, Luca Marini lined up in seventh place and immediately went for the dry line. On tender hooks, the grid tipped in to Turn 1 and Marini’s race-long battle with his fellow Honda riders began. Marini, Zarco and Mir traded places as they closed in on the group ahead who were battling for the top five, arriving with the other riders during the mid-stages of the race. From here, the Italian focused on defending his spot in the top ten on soft tyres as the track continued to dry. Crossing the line in eighth place, his best Grand Prix result so far on the Honda RC213V, the #10 rises up to ninth in the World Championship standings and is five points shy of Zarco who leads the Honda quartet. Despite suffering in the closing stages, Marini and Honda HRC Castrol leave Austin pleased with the result and especially the improvements made.
Joan Mir’s race looked set to be one of his best as he overcame a last-minute decision to switch tyres and started in eighth place, giving as good as he got in the opening battle with Marini and Zarco. Able to stay with his Honda HRC Castrol teammate, Mir began to battle with Bastianini for tenth place. Turn 14 would see Mir suffer his third fall of the weekend, losing the front as he tried to hold off the KTM rider. He was unharmed in the fall. Mir was again left to rue what could have been.
36 points in hand, Honda hold second in the Constructor Championship in a tight battle with KTM and Aprilia. The Honda HRC Castrol team will now enjoy a brief respite before getting back on track for Round Four of the 2025 MotoGP World Championship at the Lusail International Circuit. Weather is not generally a concern at MotoGP’s only night race.
Luca Marini
Eighth
“We confirm that our package is improving with each GP, and I think we were able to make a good a good step with the setting. The bike is working better, and I am really enjoying riding it, especially in the entry phase. But there were some mistakes from my side which limited our performance. I went with the wrong tyre, I put soft-soft and it was not a mistake I have ever made before in this situation. The track was able to dry very quickly, unlike on Friday when it took a long time to dry. Even with the wrong tyre, we made a really good race so this is the positive that we have to focus on. If we can put everything together, we can achieve even more.”
Joan Mir
DNF
“It’s a real shame to crash out again while running up in a good position. It’s really frustrating to have this happen again because our potential is much more and especially this weekend. When riding alone I can be fast but when we are battling with other riders, I lose that feeling. I have to be very aggressive and then these things happen. The team and I need to work on this, our situation this year is very different to last year – we have the potential but we can’t get it out.”
