A Virus Sidelines Marini, a Glimmer of Hope for Mir: The Latest on Honda’s Emergency

Luca Marini sidelined on the first day of the Australian GP, while Joan Mir could be close to returning: Alberto Puig gives an update.

Honda is facing a serious crisis in this MotoGP season finale, more so than ever before. Luca Marini's virus has added to the team's woes, forcing him to sit out the rest of today's action after just a few laps in the first free practice session. This comes on top of Joan Mir's health problems, Aleix Espargaro's upcoming surgery and Takaaki Nakagami's injury. It's a nightmare period, and, as mentioned, the factory team risks having to withdraw completely from this Australian trip, leaving LCR to keep the Golden Wing flying. But there may be a glimmer of hope... Alberto Puig, in his final Grands Prix as team manager of Honda HRC Castrol, gave an update. And on the 2027 line-up, he said, "it's a good combination of youth and experience."

"Luca hasn't been feeling well since last week. He arrived here in Australia already physically exhausted," he told motogp.com just before Practice began. "We talked about it, he gave it a try, but after two laps he was completely out of strength, especially in his hands. Dr Charte came to the garage to check him over and told us he has a virus, recommending complete rest today. We'll see tomorrow; that's the situation..." Puig looked bitter and resigned: Honda's factory team is having a tough time, with a series of physical and health problems affecting its riders and test riders.

There is, however, a glimmer of hope regarding Joan Mir, who has missed several Grands Prix due to unspecified health problems. "I don't want to make any promises, but he should be back in Sepang," Puig continued, before recalling the situation. "He started having problems at Misano, in Italy. He wasn't feeling well and began undergoing a lot of tests. There is some issue," he said, without going into detail. "But he's been working hard with the doctors, and it looks like he's been given the green light for Sepang. We're happy about that!"

Honda has also had to do without its test riders lately. "Aleix had surgery last week for an arm problem, and Taka crashed in Japan... You could say we're a little 'unlucky.' It's not the best time," he admitted. It's not good news for development of the 850cc bike for 2027 either, with both test riders out of action. "That's a different story. Development is progressing more or less according to plan, so we haven't stopped," he stressed. "It's true that Taka has done more laps, but Aleix also completed some tests before his surgery. We also had the test in Austria, where three riders did a lot of laps, tried the tyres and gave us plenty of important feedback. We're not sounding the alarm. It's not the best situation, but it's not the end of the world."

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