Challenging Sprint Saturday for the Repsol Honda Team in Aragon

Aragon, September 01, 2024: Saturday in Aragon was a trying day for Repsol Honda Team, Luca Marini and Joan Mir doing their best to overcome a variety of challenges.

Overnight rain at MotorLand Aragon was lighter than predicted but would have a sizable impact on Saturday's action. With grip greatly reduced, Luca Marini and Joan Mir fought hard to show their Friday pace and would manage only 20th and 22nd on the grid, respectively. When the lights went out on the 11-lap Sprint, both Repsol Honda Team riders were nearly involved in a dramatic start to the Sprint race, taking avoiding action to dodge a falling Aleix Espargaro at Turn 1.

With the drama behind him, Luca Marini got to work on recovering ground to the group ahead. Several falls early in the race elevated the #10's position as he aimed for Nakagami and top Honda honours once again. Setting a string of mid 1'49s helped Marini stay clear of Alex Rins before crossing the line in 16th place. After steady progress since the mid-season break, Marini is hungry for more on Sunday.

Joan Mir had a similarly complicated race battling the track conditions, spending the majority of the Sprint holding off Maverick Viñales. Able to feel more comfortable on the bike as the race went on, Mir is aiming to make gains on front-end feel. Improvements are needed for Sunday and the double World Champion and his team are already hard at work exploring options for the Grand Prix.

Running over 23 laps, the Gran Premio de Aragon will commence at 14:00 Local Time on Sunday, September 01.

Luca Marini (16^th)

"Honestly, it was a really, really hard race today. The conditions on track today were hard for everyone and we weren't able to push. As soon as you went out of the racing line, especially on the first two laps, it was really critical because if you went a bit wide the chances of crashing were high. Last night's rain made the conditions more complicated I think, but finally it's the same track for every rider. I also had a lot of vibrations from the rear of the bike from about lap four, which we need to understand because with these track conditions it's hard to be consistent."

Joan Mir (18^th)

"A critical day for us in terms of the conditions we faced. There are a lot of points to understand with the track and also with our bike. Yesterday there was more grip which for our bike helps and we were more competitive. My feeling improved a lot during the race but I wasn't able to make a step with my pace like many others. Let's see what we are able to do tomorrow."

Aragon GP - Sprint Result