After a Friday full of progress and potential, the Repsol Honda Team were left to ask what could have been after a number of factors limited their Saturday performance.
Progress is rarely linear, the Repsol Honda Team encountering difficulties on the second day of the Indonesian GP. Starting Saturday with a respectable 13th and 17th, Joan Mir and Luca Marini were ready to press on and show the progress made by Honda HRC engineers. It’s clear that a step has been made and the Repsol Honda Team are now closer to their rivals after continual evolutions during the season.
Having taken pole at the Mandalika Circuit one year ago and missed the top ten by less than a tenth on Friday, Luca Marini was primed to show his and the Honda RC213V’s potential in Qualifying. As is often the case in the tight 15-minute Q1, putting together a perfect lap was complicated and the #10 set a best time of 1’30.395 for 17th on the grid. His Sprint would be complicated by an early race incident, but his top ten pace left a positive feeling and hope for Sunday. Putting their learnings into action overnight will be the team’s main focus.
Joan Mir endured a difficult Saturday, his Sprint ending at Turn 16 after losing the front. A number of factors saw him end Q1 with a best time of 1’30.698 and start 20th, complicating both races for the #36. Extracting the most out of new tyres is an area he and his side of the Repsol Honda Team garage will continue to focus on in the coming rounds. Like his teammate, Mir is feeling more positive for Sunday and is target a Misano style turnaround once more.
27-lap scorching hot laps now await the MotoGP World Championship grid at 15:00 Local Time on Sunday, September 29 in Indonesia. The third edition of the race will be another test of machine and rider in the oppressively hot conditions of Lombok.