Forward momentum continues to build to an unstoppable pace, Joan Mir and Luca Marini once again graduating from Friday inside the top ten as the might of Honda HRC’s engineers continues to show.
Double Friday delight for Honda HRC Castrol on the Adriatic Coast as further upgrades to the Honda RC213V helped both Joan Mir and Luca Marini to show their potential and bring the fight back to the front group. Despite a crash at the end of the afternoon session, it was Joan Mir who led the Honda charge with a best time of 1’30.819. Sixth overall, the lap is a second faster than Zarco’s best time from the same session 12 months ago. Boosted by several upgrades, including a new exhaust and several aerodynamic pieces, Mir showed his World Champion pedigree and has set himself clear targets for Saturday and Sunday.
The pressure was on for Luca Marini in front of his home crowd, the Italian sitting comfortably inside the top five for the majority of both sessions as he worked to test the upgrades prepared by Honda HRC’s engineers. With the clock ticking down in the final moments of the afternoon session, Marini was outside the top ten but dug deep to get his Honda HRC Castrol RC213V machine around the Misano circuit in a time of 1’30.848 – 0.029s behind his teammate. MotoGP Hall of Famer Casey Stoner was also on hand to offer input to the #10.
Objective one conquered in fine style, Saturday will be about securing the strongest possible grid spot to help break away with the leading group in the Sprint and the Grand Prix. Step by step, Honda HRC continue to close the gap to the front at an ever-quickening pace.