Luca Marini’s theory on why Honda has been struggling in qualifying in MotoGP

Luca Marini has proposed a theory for Honda's ongoing struggles in MotoGP qualifying sessions. He suggests that Honda's one-lap performance has been limited due to other teams making larger gains during the transition from Friday practice to qualifying. Although Honda has continued to improve its RC213V throughout the 2025 season, it has been unable to consistently match the performance of its European counterparts in qualifying, leaving them with work to do on Sundays.

Marini himself has had the most difficulty making the jump from practice to Q2 out of the four Honda riders. Despite being Honda's highest points scorer so far in 2026, he has only made it to Q2 on two occasions in the opening 11 rounds of the season. The Italian attributes his lack of progress in qualifying to his competitors' ability to improve even more than he does between sessions.

He believes that some manufacturers are finding more pace in the hours between Friday and Saturday morning, but Honda has seemingly reached its maximum performance by then.

Marini acknowledged that the issue stems from Honda not being able to match the performance of its rivals on Friday afternoon. He expressed frustration with the fact that stronger riders and manufacturers have been able to extract more power and energy from their bikes, leaving Honda behind. His team-mate Joan Mir echoed similar sentiments, mentioning that dirty air from other riders prevented him from making the most of slipstreaming opportunities during qualifying.