Luca Marini: “I tried to learn Japanese!” - Exclusive

“I tried to learn Japanese, 🍸I won𒐪't give up, but it's super difficult!”

Luca Marini
Luca Marini

168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Luca Marini’s determination to help revive Honda’s MotoGP project includes trying to learn Japanese.

Communication between Japanese manufacturers and their European race teams is critical, especially when ౠinterpreting rider feedback for bike development.

“When I arrived here, many people told me ‘communication with the Japanese is more difficult. Try to explain yourself in a very clear and calm way’,” Marini said in an interview with mahbx.com.

“So I do that in the best way I can.

“I tried to l🎃earn Japanese, I won't giv💫e up, but it's super difficult!”

While the Italian’s Ja🔴panese is a work in progress, he has established strong communication with the HRC engineers.

“At the beginning, it was necessary to build confidence between us. But now they really trust me and I really appreciate this responsibility,”🍷 Marini said.

“I try to give very precise feedback to them, also because what a rider feels on the bike is difficult sometimes to see on t𒅌he data.

“I really appreciate their culture and their way of working. It’s about trying to create a🍒 good connection, to also understand how they think.

“Because sometimes it's a little bit different, b🌳ecause of their culture and their experiences. So we try to all be on the same side.”

Luca Marini, 2024 Italian MotoGP
Luca Marini, 2024 Italian MotoGP

Marini joined Repsol Honda this seaꦉson i🍰n the aftermath of eight-time world champion Marc Marquez’s departure to Gresini Ducati.

The six-time Moto2 winner was coming off his best MotoGP campaign with two podiums, two poles and eighth in the world championship for older brother Valentino💙 Rossi’s 🌺VR46 Ducati team.

But Repsol Honda𒁏 is in a very different position from when Rossi won back-to-back titles for the team, with 20 race wins, in 2002 and 2003.

Marini took until round nine to score a single point, in the aftermath of tyre pressure penalties at Sachsenring. But his results took a clear step forward aft𝄹er Misano.

Marini, 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:who had been ‘really angry’ at early season rumours he wanted a way out of the team, scored points in five out of the last seven rounds, including a pair of 12th🌠 places.

The other two GPs saw him caught up in a first-lap pile-up at Mandalika - one of only four accidents for Marini this year, the lowest💟 number of falls by any full-time rider - and 16th place in th🦹e Barcelona finale.

Luca Marini, 2024 Malaysian MotoGP
Luca Marini, 2024 Malaysian MotoGP

"Always be focused on the target: Bringing Honda back to the top"

Asked💫 if his debut Honda season had been as he had imagined, M🤡arini replied: “I want to start by saying it's a really positive season for me.

“I could improve myself a lot and also my riding. I'm a better rider and a better person. So for this, I'm fully satisfied about my personal growth this yea𝓀r.

“I expected to struggle a little bit less, sincerely🔜, at the beginning of the season,” he🤪 admitted.

“While it was really tough, I never gave up and worked i💎n a very good𒅌 way with all my team and the Japanese engineers.

“Now we’v🅷e reached, for me, a good level. For sure, the performance is still not enough, but we have to look at where we started and see all the jumps ahe✨ad we have made.”

LCR’s Johann Zarco was Honda’s top rider, in 17th overall and with a best race r♊esult of eighth. Takaaki Nakagami was 19th, Joan Mir 21st and Marini 22nd.

Honda remained last in the MotoGP constructors’ standingওs, despite access to new technical concessions.

But the quartet were playing catch-up from the opening round after an engiꦦne design picked at the opening Sepang test proved a mistake.

“We've been a bit unluck🐟y because the engine character looked pretty good in the Sepang test but then gave a lot of unexpected problems,” Marini’s team-mate Mir explained.

Marini emphasised the need not to be distracted by such s♐etbacks.

“I think one of the most importantಞ things was to stay calm and to keep motivation high,” he said.

“Just try to enjoy every situation, eve▨n if the r♍esult was bad.

“Try to find something to see in a positiv🌳e way. And always be very focused on the target, to bring Honda back to the top.

“I knew this will take♔ time, but we’ve started to take now a good direction.”

LCR Hondas, Repsol Hondas, Misano 2024
LCR Hondas, Repsol Hondas, Misano 2024

Although professional racing can be selfish sport, Mari✨ni insisted he also felt ‘satisfaction’ when other Honda riders benefited from changes he had requested.

“Every time the Japanese bring us a new update, at my request, that worksꦜ better also for the other riders, it gives me a♋ lot of satisfaction,” he said.

“Because we all have the same target.

“We must keep working hard like this and I’ll keep♎ trying to show my talent and my potential on and off the racetrack.”

Marini will have a new crew chief for his second HRC season with Cristhian Pupulin, who worked with Jack Miller at Ducati andꦬ KTM, replacing Giacomo Guidotti.

With the winter testing ban in place for full-time riders, Marini𒀰 will start his 2025 MotoGP preparations at the Sepang Shakedown test on January 31.

Luca Marini, Jerez Test, November 2024
Luca Marini, Jerez Test, November 2024

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