Marini believes Honda needs to take half-second advantage in MotoGP in winter

According to factory rider Luca Marini, Honda will need to find another half-second during the winter break to be competitive in MotoGP next year.

The Japanese manufacturer suffered another disastrous campaign in MotoGP this year with the troubled RC213V, finishing bottom of the standings behind Yamaha.

The Misano test in September saw a clear increase in performance, helping LCR rider Johann Zarco achieve his first top 10 finishes in Indonesia and Thailand.

However, Marini knows Honda still faces a long road to recovery and must continue to work hard in the off-season to close the gap on its rivals in 2025.

“If we have to check the performance and development of the bike compared to the Catalan GP in May and here (at the Barcelona GP), I think we have taken a good step forward,” he said.

“Certainly it is still not enough. But the bike is going well, the riders have improved and we are in a very good trend.

“We have to keep working and gain another half a second from here to Sepang.”

The Italian, who joins HRC at the start of 2024 on a two-year contract, reiterated that Honda has the potential to become the second-best manufacturer in MotoGP behind dominant Ducati.

“I am satisfied (with the progress),” he said. “We started with a deficit of 1.8 seconds per lap in some races. We are now at one second per lap.

“It’s still a long way. It may not be possible to reach Ducati’s level, but for now the aim is to beat all the manufacturers and then we will try to think about beating Ducati as well.

Thanks to a modified concession system introduced by MotoGP both Honda and Yamaha were able to enjoy increased freedom with regard to testing and bike development.

However, Marini’s team-mate Joan Mir, Earlier it was said that Honda gained nothing in the short term from these concessions – And any effects won’t be visible until 2025.

Meanwhile, Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo felt it was the Iwata-based brand able to make good use of the systemBecause it often brought new parts to the M1.

Asked to compare Honda and Yamaha’s 2024 campaigns, Marini said his team was able to make a big lead in the season, but it was not enough to close the gap to its domestic rival.

“We were always a step behind (Yamaha) because they started from a much higher point than us,” the 27-year-old said.

“We achieved a lot, we closed the gap, but (we) were still not at their level.

“Also he also developed the bike during the season. He didn’t get stuck and kept working hard during the season, his bike, like ours, has got better.

“We made more improvements than Yamaha, but they started better than us, especially with Quartararo, who knows Yamaha very well and is able to bring the bike to the limit.

“He is very good in his riding style and he knows a lot about the bike and that is also why his performance is better than us most of the time.”