Mobility Resort Motegi
Retro-liveried Honda HRC Castrol produce solid home points
Japanese GP fans were transported back to 1966 as The Dream. The Challenge. came alive, Luca Marini racing the classic colours to top Honda honours while Somkiat Chantra impressed and matched his best ever Premier Class result.
Adorned with the colours of Honda's first premier class machine, the RC181, Luca Marini and Somkiat Chantra were as determined as ever to deliver their best in front of Honda HRC staff and the Japanese fans. An extended Warm Up due to the withdrawal of the soft rear tyre gave the Honda HRC Castrol team an extra opportunity to experiment before the 24-lap race.
Wearing a special helmet to accompany the livery, Luca Marini made another rapid start to the race to immediately jump into the battle for the top ten positions. As has become his trademark, consistency saw Marini hold position as those around him faltered. An intense battle with Brad Binder punctuated the final laps of Marini's Japanese GP, the Honda rider working hard to keep the South African behind. Tenth place in the race saw the #10 cross the line as the first Honda rider and end a complicated weekend on a more positive note than it began.
Somkiat Chantra was again able to make another step in his rapid reintroduction to the Honda RC213V. More aggressive when the lights went out than Saturday, the WorldSBK regular was able to stay in the battle with Viñales and the VR46 duo – besting all three of them in an impressive manner. The final laps of the Japanese GP saw Chantra chase down Fabio Quartararo for 12th place, finishing barely half a second shy of the former World Champion after 24-laps. 13th equals Chantra’s best finish in a Grand Prix from 2025, highlighting the fantastic work done by him and the team over the weekend.
The Indonesian Grand Prix is now right around the corner, the Honda HRC Castrol squad heading to Mandalika immediately after the race to begin Round 17. One of Luca Marini's favourite circuits, watch out for the #10 next weekend.
Luca Marini 10 Honda HRC Castrol
“Our weekend did not start in the best way so ending with a tenth place allows us to head to Mandalika with at least a bit of a smile. It was not an amazing race, but when we think about how the weekend started, it shows that the team are working well to recover our situation. More points on the board as we look to a circuit, Mandalika, I enjoy a lot and a track where the bike has worked at well in the past. Certainly, the highlight of the weekend was the beautiful colours we had on the bike today, it was very special to wear them.”
Somkiat Chantra 15 Honda HRC Castrol
“I am so happy with how this whole weekend has gone. When I compared it to my feeling from last year, the difference is so much and to already match my best result in MotoGP after one weekend with the Honda HRC Castrol team shows how well we were working together. Already when I arrived already on Friday the setup of the bike was so good and today I started better than Saturday and it was the first time like I felt I could fight on the bike, I was pushing until the end to catch Fabio but I just missed it. Thank you to everyone who helped me this weekend, I really appreciate the faith that Honda HRC put in me, and I am so happy to give them this result.”
