Times moves fast, especially when you’re Grand Prix motorcycle racing, and there was no time to rest as less than 48 hours after the end of 2024, a new season has begun with Joan Mir and Luca Marini straight to work.
The whirlwind continued as the seasons change from 2024 to 2025 and the Repsol Honda Team returned to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the first day of the new year. A cool morning gave way to almost perfect conditions, the sun just beginning to set at 16:30 Local Time and allowing the likes of Joan Mir and Luca Marini to run through their full testing programs. Together they completed more than 100 laps, more vital data for the engineering staff to decipher during the coming months.
Setting a best time of 1’40.070 on his 60th of 67 laps, Joan Mir ended the day in 15th overall. Focusing on a handful of key items in the one-day test, Mir was able to assess crucial changes ahead of a winter full of development for Honda HRC’s engineers back in Japan. The season is not yet over as Mir and Marini will head to Jerez for a private test in the coming days, the #36 hopeful of even more developments to try.
It was a busy day for Luca Marini who officially starts his second year as a factory Honda HRC rider. Marini suffered a rare fall early in the day, coming off at Turn 5. He was unharmed and quickly returned to the Repsol Honda Team garage before heading back out on track. Finishing the day in 18th thanks to a best time of 1’40.232, the Italian completed a total of 57 laps aboard the Honda RC213V.