Red Bull Ring - Spielberg
Marini alongside Nakagami for Austrian GP
After a consistent weekend at his home GP, Luca Marini aims to replicate his performance in Austria as Takaaki Nakagami targets familiarisation ahead of his own home round wildcard.
Originally opened in 1969 as the Österreichring before its modern reincarnation in 2011, the 4.35 km, 10-turn Red Bull Ring - Spielberg combines three long straights with heavy, late-braking zones, rewarding outright horsepower and stability under braking above all else. Famous for intense battles down to the line and unpredictable events, it remains a circuit where the Honda HRC Castrol team will need every ounce of race craft and strategy to continue fighting towards the front.
Luca Marini heads into the Austrian Grand Prix as Honda HRC Castrol's most consistent points-scorer through 2026, the only rider in the premier class to have taken points each Sunday this season. Having shown a clear step in his one-lap pace during the San Marino GP weekend, the Italian is looking to replicate this performance and continue chasing down the leading pack. He is again aiming to maximise his Qualifying performance before bringing home solid points and continuing his run as Honda's leading representative in the 2026 championship standings.
Returning to the MotoGP World Championship for the first time since the 2025 Japanese GP is Takaaki Nakagami, the Honda HRC Development Rider called in to replace Joan Mir. Having spent much of the year working on future projects, the weekend will give the veteran of over 100 premier class Grands Prix a chance to reacquaint himself with the Honda RC213V. In the past, the Austrian GP has produced a steady string of point scoring results for the Japanese ace but the 2026 edition will have a different objective.
Luca Marini 10 Honda HRC Castrol
“First, I want to wish Joan well and I hope he can be back on the bike with us ASAP – he is a really valuable teammate. Here it is all about hard braking and hard acceleration out of the corner, what we did in Misano can help us here. We remain realistic about where we are and our target does not change. Repeating a weekend like we had in Misano is our goal: show our pace on Friday and work well with the team to keep building step by step. It’s a track where a lot can happen, it’s really important to position yourself well and be ready to capitalize on anything that happens. Let’s enjoy and prepare correctly for the Asian races, starting in Japan.”
Takaaki Nakagami 30 Honda HRC Castrol
“I arrive in Austria straight from a private test in Mugello, but we have been doing a lot of different testing of a lot of different bikes. This weekend will be about getting back up to speed completely with the RC213V and the Michelin tyres ahead of my wildcard at home in Motegi. Of course, I am sure that we will take this opportunity to try a couple of things that maybe the team wouldn’t normally so we can be well prepared for the future. The main thing is to make sure that Joan is OK, this is the key point in this difficult moment for him.”