Despite making progress over the winter, Luca Marini believes Honda is ju𝐆st as far away from the front of MotoGP as it was in 2024.

The Italian believes that the RC213V is an overall step forward this year compare🎶d t👍o last, but not necessarily any more competitive as a result.

“We♏ improve the bike from last year and we made a step with the 2025,” Marini said.

“But, still, we are supe🉐r-far, because we made a step but everybody made a step – this is the problem. I think the gap at the moment is more or less the same [as l🦂ast year].”

In particular, Marini said that the 2025 bike has improved in the first part of the cor🅠ner, but the problems iཧn acceleration remain.

“I 🦹think we improved the braking part of the bike and the turning compared to last 🌸year,” he said.

“For sure, it’s still missi𝓡ng the engine, the top speed.

“This will be the key for try to have more potential in the future𒀰, during the season, esಞpecially to overtake because Joan [Mir] and Johann [Zarco] made a fantastic lap today and they were super-fast.

“But the problem is that when you have a race it’s difficult to overta൲ke and then the bike goes super-hot, same problem with the tyres.

“So, I think we have t🃏o focus on this to try to have more opportunities to overtake during the race, because we will still start from mid-grid, not so far forward.”

All in all, Marini concluded that the new bike is “easier” to ride, “espe꧃cially if you have to make a race simulation,🃏 it’s super-easy to keep your pace, you don’t destroy the tyres.”

However, ꦅthe time attack is “super-difficult, much more difficult, and you have to risk a lot to make a good la💜p.”

Joan Mir: “It’s not completely like that”

Marini’s Honda HRC Castrol teammate, Joan Mir – w♑ho Marini credits with requesting an improvement in throttle connection that has been realised in the 2025 RC213V – clarified some of the Italian’s comments.

“To create less drama I will agree with Luca [Marini],” Mir said when asked about Marini’s br🐈aking and turning comments.

“But it’s not completely like that. And he knows it but probably he explained it 𒈔in a different way.

“The package that we actually have that is a mix of 2024 and 25 is better for the turning area,” the 2020 MotoGP World Ch🌞ampion explained.

“It’s one area that we improved a lot compared to last year. I would say also 🍬stability on the brakes because I brake pretty hard and then I turn a lot better.

“So, these are the two things that the package we actually have is not fully the 2025 that makes the bike better in turning – but it’s not fully new things that they bring. We also took some th🐽ings from 2024.”

Mir was also in agreement with Marini that HRC had made a step forward over the winter, primarily because of𒊎 his own step forward in lap time compared to qualifying at last year’s Malaysian Grand Prix.

“We have to be happy because these 🐻guys worked hard in the winter time, we could see it, and they show it with a better bike,” he said.

“We have a better package than bඣefore. It’s true that [on] this third day the grip conditions are better than in a [race] weekend. This is true.

“But I waꦯs [1.3 seconds better] than my lap time in the qualifying.🌼 Everything is not the bike, it’s also the way the bike allows me to push. But it’s a combination.

“I’m not satisfied for sure, because ꧟I always want more. But we hav🔯e to be happy.”

Mir🅺 then switched to the bike’s negative points, pointing out top speed and grip.

“The thing is that we still have a co▨uple of weak points, but really weak,” he said.

“Top speed is very bad and also the grip compared to𒐪 the others, we don’t have the same grip as the🃏 others. We have to focus on this.

“We still 🌼have this famous vibration. We were not able to solve it. That is a shame because it’s something that disturbs a lot the rider and conditions a lot the approach to the🏅 corner.

“You lose a lot of time there🅷 – every time you have vibrati⛎on in a corner you lose one tenth, easy.

“But the r🏅eality is that we are much, much closer.

“When it’s hot conditionsꦍ, we struggle more. Our engine struggles more and we have a lot of pro꧑blems in terms of grip.

“So, we have to work on these two things and try to make a step for Buriram now the first race will🔜 probably 🎶be in hot conditions.”