A last push for Luca Marini and Joan Mir as they aim to end the season on high in Barcelona, the pair finishing almost nose to tail in 16th and 18th respectively on Friday.
The waning light of Autumn made for a chilly start to proceedings around the 4.66 kilometres of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, but hot or cold – the Repsol Honda Team had work to do. With the aim of returning to the top of the MotoGP World Championship, every lap and point of data is valuable for the Repsol Honda Team and Honda HRC staff – the riders making the most of all available track time.
Starting the day by comfortably running inside the top ten, Luca Marini would improve his best lap time by over a second as he fought to remain in the top ten. Eventually finishing in 16th overall, the Italian was half a second shy of the top ten and a direct trip to Q2. The evolution of the track overnight and with more running before Qualifying will be key as Marini aims to emulate the speed of Johann Zarco and Takaaki Nakagami.
Joan Mir would end Friday just under two tenths from his teammate, walking away unharmed from a late crash at Turn 10 in the afternoon. The #36 had been able to set a steady rhythm throughout the day, building his speed and improving the feeling with his Honda RC213V. Working especially on rear grip, Mir made improvements over the course of the day and remains hopeful of delivering a strong Saturday showing.
LCR Honda’s Johann Zarco was a stand out performer on the Honda RC213V as he ended the day in fourth, 0.279s back from the top spot.