Luca Marini admits: 'I had nightmares every night'

The 2023 season was Luca Marini’s most positive MotoGP campaign to date. Riding the VR46 Ducati, Valentino Rossi’s half-brother scored two podiums and finished eighth overall with 201 points. The 2025 season ended with a seventh place in Valencia, helping Honda climb out of the relegation zone in the constructors’ championship.

In 2024, Luca Marini joined the official Honda team, fulfilling a dream. But the Japanese manufacturer was not going through its best moment. With Marc Marquez’s injury and subsequent departure, the Golden Wing engineers somewhat lost their way in the evolution of the RC-V. The world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer was experiencing the worst period in its MotoGP history. The 2024 season was a disaster for the rider from Tavullia, finishing 22nd with a total of 14 points.

In the most recent season he raised his sights and improved his performance. The 28-year-old Italian finished 13th with a haul of 142 points—despite an injury that sidelined him for several Grands Prix. Communication between riders and technicians has now improved, development is making strides, and the 2027 revolution is awaited to chart new horizons. But Luca Marini could already take further satisfaction in the next MotoGP championship.

The move from the VR46 satellite team to the official Honda squad has certainly matured the young athlete. "At VR46 I was part of a family. The situation there was completely different, as you can imagine,” he says in an interview with Speedweek.com. “Here I’ve matured, and I’m very happy and satisfied with my progress. I hope I can take another step forward next year."

It wasn’t easy adapting to a new environment and to a bike different from the Ducati. "Even during those difficult times I always saw the light at the end of the tunnel... In those small moments, I knew better times would come. Maybe sometimes I was a bit sad when I showed up to media commitments without a smile, but deep down I knew we would achieve our goal. We want to keep moving forward. I think we’ll have more fun next year."

It wasn’t just technical troubles—bad luck also marred his latest MotoGP season. The Suzuka injury affected his hip, sternum, knee, and lung. The worst crash of his career. "I had nightmares every night for a month," Luca Marini admits. "Every time I think back to that terrible moment, I smile because I’m here. I can talk about it openly without problems or regrets, and [the Suzuka 8 Hours] was something I wanted to do, even if many had advised me against it. At the time it was the right thing to do, but maybe one lap fewer would have been enough!"