Luca Marini: "Back then, Honda backed Marquez; now they trust me"

At the top of MotoGP, the picture has remained unchanged from the manufacturers’ perspective. With the Marquez brothers leading, Ducati is firmly in command on all fronts. Aprilia and KTM follow closely behind, but Honda has made a big step forward in 2025. Luca Marini is trying to fill the void left by Marc Marquez.

HRC has not yet managed to enter the fight for second place. However, compared to the 2024 season, Honda’s MotoGP project is making major progress. In total, Honda riders have scored 285 points in the Constructors’ Championship, compared to 75 in 2024. Thanks to one victory, three other podiums and greater consistency, Honda has moved up to Grade C in the Concessions. From just two top-10 finishes in 2024 to regular top-5 finishes in 2025, the RC213V is growing tremendously. The average gap between the winner and the best Honda in long races has dropped from an average of 30 seconds to 13.5 seconds.

Johann Zarco finished 12th in the overall standings with 148 points, 93 more than in 2024. Luca Marini finished 13th in 2025 and is gaining more and more confidence on the Japanese bike. Without the mid-season injury, he would have established himself as the best rider of the Golden Wing. Valentino Rossi’s brother seemed almost out of the picture a few months ago, with HRC management waiting for the green light for Jorge Martin. After failing to secure the 2024 MotoGP champion, the Tavullia rider rebuilt a respectable role in the Honda garage.

After a disappointing rookie season with just 14 points, Luca Marini made great strides during his second year with the RC-V, finishing the year on 142. In the next riders’ market session, it will no longer be the Italian who’s wavering, but his teammate Joan Mir... "I think now I have their trust," Marini said towards the end of the season, as reported by Crash.net. "So whenever I talk, they not only listen to me, but they also do what I ask."

Honda’s engineers and managers increasingly appreciate his technical qualities, capable of providing useful feedback for the bike’s development. Not only that: he is gradually gaining more charisma within the team. No easy feat, after the Japanese manufacturer lost a charismatic leader and a superstar like Marc Marquez. "They were with Marc before, they were winning a lot, so the situation was different when I arrived, without enough titles to be the number one rider in the Honda factory! But after some tests they started to trust me."