A day of two halves for Luca Marini who went from a Honda career best of sixth on the grid to a solid seventh in the Sprint, his teammate Joan Mir missing Saturday’s action after his crash on Friday afternoon.
All eyes were on Luca Marini as Saturday dawned at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli for Qualifying and the Sprint, ideal conditions holding strong during the entire day. Third in Free Practice 2, the #10 continued to show a new level of speed and consistency which was converted to a sixth place start with a thrilling last-minute lap in Q2. His 1’30.390 was a full second and a half faster than his qualifying time from 2024 and with the pole time only improving by 0.1s, the steps forward for Marini and the Honda RC213V were evident. This is Marini’s best Qualifying as a Honda HRC rider to date.
In the Sprint, Marini put up a strong fight against the likes of Acosta and Aldeguer as he worked to stay with the leaders. A change in feeling compared to the morning saw Marini limited in his overall performance, crossing the line in seventh place.
Joan Mir elected to miss Saturday’s running in San Marino after experiencing continued discomfort and a lack of mobility in his neck following his fall on Friday. With an extra day of rest and physiotherapy, Mir is aiming to race on Sunday.