Sombre final Saturday for Honda HRC Castrol
A racing incident saw both Luca Marini and Joan Mir suffer a double DNF in the final Sprint of the year. It was as a complicated Valencia GP continues.
Luca Marini put in his best effort to advance through Q1. Less than a tenth of a second was the difference between his 13th position and a spot in Q2. On the other side of the Honda HRC Castrol garage, Joan Mir earned a respectable tenth place on the grid. Guiding his Honda RC213V around the four-kilometre circuit in 1’29.233, both were hopeful. They aimed to fight further ahead in the 13-lap Sprint.
An incredible start saw Marini get the jump on his teammate and lead him into Turn 1. Mir was tucking in just behind his fellow factory Honda HRC rider. Attempting an overtake on the second lap, Mir would fall. Unfortunately, he collected his teammate in the process. Both walked away from the fall unharmed. Mir received a long lap penalty for Sunday’s race as a result of the incident.
Both riders are aiming to make amends in the last Grand Prix of 2025, the 27-lap Valencia Grand Prix.
Luca Marini
DNF
“The only thing we can say is that today we struggled more than we expected. I spoke with Joan after the crash, and these things can happen. I made a really good start and was happy with how the first lap had gone. We have another chance to make improvements tonight. Seventh is the objective so that we can level up our concessions. Anything can happen on Sunday, especially here with the weather. Let’s keep focused and go for it.”
Joan Mir
DNF
“First and foremost, I want to apologise to Luca, to the team and to Honda HRC. As you can imagine, it’s something you don’t want to happen, and I am deeply sorry. I was trying to overtake him, and I lost the front. I lost some ground on the first lap, and I was trying to make it up and get into a comfortable position for the rest of the race. The crash was my fault, the tyre a bit cold, a bit off the braking point and what happened, happened. Our objective is to end this year in a good way, to remember as it has been – one of positives.”