Misano [Italy], September 22 : Starting in the 15th and 16th, Luca Marini and Joan Mir enjoyed their best Qualifying performances of the year as the hard work inside HRC continues unabated.
Positive sensations were waiting for the Repsol Honda Team as they arrived for the second day of the Gran Premio dell'Emilia-Romagna and immediately took benefit from their overnight work. Both Luca Marini and Joan Mir were able to improve their lap times in Free Practice 2 as they prepared for another crucial Q1 session.
Marini was able to maximise his performance in Q1, taking top Honda honours and achieving his best grid position of the year with 15th. Just 0.3s shy of a transfer spot, the #10 continues to improve his form and all areas of his performance on the evolving Honda RC213V. From the fifth row, Marini made a solid start to stay with Alex Marquez during the opening laps and gained more valuable information on the Honda and the other manufacturers' machines. Crossing the line in 16th, Marini would be promoted to 15th in the Sprint after a tyre pressure penalty for Fabio Di Giannantonio.
Arriving in Q1 after an FP2 session of progress, Joan Mir wasted no time in attacking and immediately put himself in contention for one of the transfer positions. A best lap of 1'31.450 would cement his best grid position of the year in 16th, just 0.022s behind his Repsol Honda Team teammate Marini. It would be a more complicated Sprint for Mir who again suffered from vibration issues, making for a complicated race.
With a number of positives found, the Repsol Honda Team head into Sunday with renewed vigour, eager to deliver on the potential shown on Saturday morning. The Gran Premio dell'Emilia-Romagna will take place at 13:00 Local Time on Sunday and run across 27 laps.
"Taking 15th in Quali is a good step for us, it's been a positive Saturday overall. In the Sprint at turn eight I had a huge moment, and I had to run wide, but I went really wide! I lost a second here and then the others overtook me. We need to explore the first lap of the race because I think we can find something more, especially with making the most of the rear tyre. The new package has improved our corner entry and turning, which is positive, and we need to stay focused on this and not the small things that can happen in a race. I am satisfied with the job that the Japanese are doing," said Honda rider Luca Marini.
"Overall it has been a positive day where we have found something. In the morning and in Q1 we made a good step not just with fast lap but with the overall pace as well. On my second Q1 exit I think we could have achieved a bit more and I was hoping for more after seeing how strong we were. Happy for this. Of course we can't be happy with the Sprint race. The vibration we had was very high and I got the long lap from running wide at Turn 11. We have to check everything very well to stop this happening again, I finished the Sprint to get more data about this situation," said Honda rider Joan Mir.