Luca Marini saves Honda: “I performed a miracle.”

The rider from the Marche region is pleased with his performance in the MotoGP race at Sepang, as he never expected to do so well after the health problems that had affected him.

Luca Marini crossed the finish line at the Malaysian Grand Prix completely spent, but his seventh place was worth far more than just the result. The Honda HRC rider marked his 200th race in the Motorcycle World Championship this way, a week after sitting out the Australian round because of a virus that had knocked him out.

It was a positive result on a very difficult day for the Japanese factory at Sepang. Joan Mir retired due to health problems, Diogo Moreira crashed, and Johann Zarco stopped with a technical issue. Only Valentino Rossi’s brother managed to see the chequered flag, and he did so with a more than respectable result.

Marini’s words after the race say it all about his less-than-perfect physical condition: "I’m dead! I was already exhausted after the Sprint - Motorsport.com reports - but I pulled off a miracle in the race, and I didn’t expect it; I thought I’d have to retire, but it went brilliantly! I’m really happy—I did something impossible".

The future KTM Tech3 rider arrived in Malaysia far from fully recovered. Until the middle of the week, as he admitted on Thursday shortly after arriving in the paddock, he had no strength in his joints and even struggled to type messages on his phone. After a Friday spent well outside the points, he came close to making it through to Q2 on Saturday, then finished the Sprint in 13th place, 12.7 seconds behind the winner, already at his limit.

Starting from 13th on the grid, Marini’s race plan was simple, with no alternatives. "The strategy was to give it everything on the first lap, trying to get into a good position straight away, because a poor start and ending up further back would have made it difficult to recover and reach the end of the race, given my physical condition".

He did well to gain places at the start, which allowed him to manage the race better and achieve the best possible result: "I would never have bet on a result like this - explained the 29-year-old from the Marche region - but it came down to a great start, because the riders behind me were more or less matching my pace".

The priority now is to recharge his batteries. The next round is at Lusail next weekend. It is still confirmed, despite the many discussions and tensions that have arisen. Marini chose not to comment on the debate surrounding the Qatar GP, focusing instead on being on the grid in finally acceptable physical condition.