Circuito de Jerez - Angel Nieto
Honda HRC Castrol take points in challenging Spanish GP
Contact and long lap penalties restricted both Luca Marini and Joan Mir from doing anything more, the pair leaving the first European Grand Prix of the year with a 13th and 15th place finish respectively.
From before sunrise, the hills and grandstands of the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto began to fill with close to 100,000 fans, eagerly awaiting what would unfold. The hottest conditions of the weekend introduced a new element to Sunday, Honda HRC Castrol making the most of morning Warm Up to prepare for the 25-lap Spanish Grand Prix.
Starting well, Luca Marini found himself squeezed heading into the first corner and resulting contact removed much of the aerodynamics on the lefthand side of his Honda RC213V. Settling into a rhythm to recover the positions he lost while also working to fully understand the condition of his machine, Marini put on a respectable march forward and he closed in on the likes of Rins, Quartararo and the points. Taking 13th at the line, the #10 leaves Spain with 27 points in the World Championship standings.
Double Long Lap Penalty looming, Joan Mir pushed from the off to open as much margin as possible before completing his penalty by lap eight. Consistent pace had the 2020 MotoGP World Champion close in on the factory Yamaha pair ahead, easily passing Rins and looking for a way past Quartararo until the final corner. 15th rewards Mir with a single point and his first Sunday race finish of the 2026 season.
The Honda HRC Castrol team will remain in Spain for the first post-race test of the year, a critical moment to make improvements before three Grands Prix in rapid succession.
Luca Marini 10 Honda HRC Castrol
“Unfortunately at the start of the race I had contact with some other riders and our bike’s aerodynamics were damaged. Without the left side of the aero, everything was compromised – from wheelie in under acceleration to getting the bike stopped. We did what we could in this situation. Zarco showed how important Qualifying is, from second on the grid he could fight for sixth or seventh, so we need to keep working on our Friday and Saturday to improve Sunday. We keep improving and see what we can learn from the post-race test.”
Joan Mir 36 Honda HRC Castrol
“Considering the Double Long Lap Penalty, the result is about as good as we could have hoped for. Our main objective was to finish the race because the conditions, the grip and everything were very critical today and with the weather we didn’t have the perfect package. Not the weekend or the result we aimed for, but some good information and at least we made some good overtakes during the comeback at the end. Now a day of testing with a few things to work on.”
