Autódromo Internacional de Goiânia – Ayrton Senna
Ups and downs for Honda HRC Castrol in Goiania
Crashes, delays and fast starts – Saturday at the Brazil GP had it all, Luca Marini keeping his cool to recover eight positions while Joan Mir’s potential remains masked through no fault of his own.
Despite some delays, the first Sprint Race at the Grand Prix of Brazil thrilled the fans at the crowded Autodromo Internacional de Goiania – Ayrton Senna. Dry conditions gave the Honda HRC Castrol team plenty of insight into what to expect on Sunday as both riders aim to repeat their early progress from today.
Luca Marini experienced two crashes on Saturday, something unheard of for MotoGP’s most consistent rider. A fall at Turn 1 in the morning and then a more costly fall at Turn 4 during Q1 meant the Italian would start down in 19th for the Sprint. Undeterred, a lightning start and quick action to avoid a slow starting Aldeguer quickly saw Marini rise through the ranks. Closing the opening lap on the edge of the top ten, the #10 attached himself to home hero Diogo Moreira to try and close down Bagnaia ahead. Taking 11th at the line, Marini had hoped for more but was content overall given the complications of his Saturday.
Having recovered some of his energy after a solid night of rest, Joan Mir has competitive from the start of Saturday and threatened the top two in Q1. Lining up in 13th ultimately, Mir was able to gain several positions when the lights went out on the fast-starting Honda RC213V. Lady luck once again abandoned Mir, contact with another rider sent him wide and into the dirty part of the circuit, crashing as a result.
Now the main event - the 31 lap Grand Prix of Brazil - looms overhead, a chance to head to Texas with positivity and extra motivation. If ambient conditions remain the same as Saturday, it will be a physically demanding race around MotoGP's newest circuit.
Luca Marini 10 Honda HRC Castrol
“At the start I was able to start really well and for the opening laps I pushed really hard to overtake some of the guys. It was OK but the front tyre did not behave as I was expecting, so this limited our potential quite a bit. For tomorrow we need to analyse everything and see how we can improve this, with the setting or with how things are prepared. I made a mistake this morning, touching the wet spot at Turn 1 and then pushing too much into Turn 4 because I knew Q2 was possible. Was a disaster starting from the back and really gave us an uphill battle. MotoGP Sports did a good job to have the race today even with a strange situation.”
Joan Mir 36 Honda HRC Castrol
“Mixed feelings today. In the morning we were able to be quite competitive in terms of pace, especially with the used tyre. In Qualifying, we were right on the limit to advance and our lap time would have put us in a strong position on the grid if we were directly in Q2. My condition is still not perfect, in the morning I have a lot more energy and power than in the afternoon. As for the race, we started well but Raul Fernandez overtook me in not the best way, I had to go wide and on the dirty part of the track I crashed. If we can achieve a good result tomorrow, no one will remember today.”
