Luca Marini has count🅺ered claims from MotoGP team-mate Joan Mir that Honda didn’t bring anything ✱new to the post-season test, but warned progress will still take time.

Mir was left unhappy after last week’s test at Barcelona, which he felt was “not productive”, as everything Honda had 𝓡brought to try had already been used before.

LCR’s Johan𝓰n Zarco said he tried a new bike from Honda but it was “nothing positive”, though also stressed that there was no need to hit the panic button yet.

Marini, by contrast, said he hཧad more to test than he expected, with the 2025 prototype “for sure being the base fo😼r the Sepang test”.

The Italian felt the ꦗnew chassis improved the front-end of the bike, but didn’t do anything to improve the rear traction issues the Honda has faced all y𓆉ear.

“On my side I had quite many𒁃 things to try, sincerely.

“I also expected to have not many th൲ings to try because this was the plan, but f𝓀inally I had quite a lot of things: a new prototype bike that will for sure be the base for the Sepang test.

“Obviously it’s still not as fast as the standard bike we had during꧂ the weekend but something positive fo𝄹und.

“ For sure we still need to work on the weaknesses of the bike that are always the same, but some things w♓ent fine and other things went bad.

“But this is quite normal as the 𒀰first test ꧃of the 25 [bike].”

On the n🧜ew chassis, he added: “I think it changed quite a lot, because the frame is a huge change.

“On the front part there is something good, something positi🎃ve.

“On the rear part still we need to improve, but there are quite a lot more settings we need to try because the frame is a very b♎ig change.

“They didn’t make a small c๊hange; they made a huge change to understand the direction for the future. But maybe something is good, something not.”

Marini noted that the test of the chassis “was not made pe✤rfectly”, so any negatives may not have actually related to the frame and could be more to do with overall bike set-up.

Honda wi✨ll be at Jerez this week for a final test of 2024, where Marini says “there is also new stuff, more interesting I would say.”

But when asked if it was realistic to expect Honda, who finished last in the constructors’ table in 2024, can make a significant step for♈ the first test of 2025, he said: “I don’t know. Before Sepang I think it’s a little bit early.🅷 We wait till maybe mid-season to make a very good step.”