Although he mentioned that Honda is behind Ducati in some aspects, Luca Marini believes that there is a great margin for improvement and, more importantly, it should be done respecting the manufacturer’s DNA.
Even though he mentioned some aspects in which Ducati is superior to Honda, the Italian believes that despite the Italian manufacturer being superior, it is important to maintain: ‘I believe that this is not the correct way [to work]. The DNA of each bike must be the same and they must use their strengths, and I think Honda has some strengths and we have to work on that and not work on the bike as if it were a Ducati because that is not the correct way. There are many strengths in Honda’.
He continued, explaining in which areas he noticed greater improvements: ‘I felt better this last day. On the second day, I did more consecutive laps and on this third day, I was obviously faster, but everyone was faster because the track was better, and so the difference between me and them was a bit smaller with used tires and I am happy. We improved the corner exit, how the bike exits and uses acceleration, and that was very positive and helped me a lot, but in the last part of the entry, we still have a lot of room for improvement’.
He then spoke about how there is a growing harmony between the tires and the motorcycles’ aerodynamics:
– Every year it’s the same thing, the track always stays the same. At the end of the three days of testing, the track is always amazing. The thing is that the tires are getting better and more consistent, and when you put two different tires on the rear, you feel that both have a lot of potential, and that clearly helps to achieve better times. The motorcycle’s aerodynamics are improving a lot, you have a lot of traction and better aerodynamics. In the future, we need a harder tire because as it is now, it is not enough.
