Circuit Of The Americas
Fifth for Marini as Mir chases Austin podium
Both Honda HRC Castrol riders featured heavily on the most exciting Saturday of 2026 yet, converting top ten Qualifying pace to a podium challenge in the Sprint. Luca Marini walking away with sixth place while the podium slipped through Joan Mir’s fingers as he lost the front.
Having earned his Q2 spot already on Friday, Luca Marin’s attentions were focused on maximising his profits from the second 15-minute session. A best lap of 02’00.891 earned him ninth on the grid, making up crucial early ground compared to Thailand and Brazil. Starting well, Marini kept his nerve through the hustle and bustle of Turn 1 to tag onto the group fighting for the podium. Chasing down the likes of Bastianini and Alex Marquez until the very end, Marini would take sixth place at the flag. A post race penalty for Acosta promoted Marini to fifth, confirming the US Sprint as his second best Sprint performance with the factory Honda HRC team.
Joan Mir was a standout of the morning, progressing through Q1 with the second fastest time before going on to smash the lap record at the Circuit of the Americas, eventually qualifying in fifth with a best time of 02’00.591, one-and-half a seconds faster than his Q2 time from the 2025 US Grand Prix. A lightning start and chaos up ahead saw the #36 thrust into podium contention, battling hard with both Aprilia riders. With third place up for grabs on the final lap, Mir began to line up Acosta just ahead but would fall at Turn One. Unharmed, the 2020 MotoGP World Champion remains steadfastly focused on the positives and will once again approach Sunday with full commitment.
A penalty for slow riding on the racing line during Q2 will demote Marini to 11th for Sunday’s US Grand Prix. If the 10-lap Sprint was anything to go by, the feature-length US Grand Prix will be an unmissable race as riders seek glory, redemption and data before heading into a three week break ahead of the Spanish GP in Jerez.
Luca Marini 10 Honda HRC Castrol
“On paper, sixth position, we should be happy. But I wanted to be better, I wanted to be there fighting for the podium but since this morning I was not feeling as comfortable as yesterday. Everything today was just a little bit more complicated than yesterday which limited our potential. Even like this, we have been able to improve the bike since the last two races, and this is a crucial point. Still to reach the top five, we need to really having everything perfect so there is of course more work to do to help us close the gap. Another step in the right direction and hopefully in tomorrow's race we can do a little more and see what happens.”
Joan Mir 36 Honda HRC Castrol
“Staying positive like always, no regrets. I had the opportunity to fight for the podium and that’s exactly what I did. If I didn’t try, I can’t sleep wondering if I could have given more. Ok, I need to find a bit more patience in the future, but I am certain that if we continue working in this way we can be there, not once or twice but every race. The more we improve, the more margin we have. I am sorry to the team because this time it was my fault, now we see what the possibility is for tomorrow. If there is again the opportunity to fight for the podium then we will go for it with everything that we have, like always.”
