Misano [San Marino], September 7 : Officially entering the second half of the season with round 11, the prospect of the San Marino GP delivers another weekend of potential for the Repsol Honda Team.
The constant work continued as the Repsol Honda Team immediately packed up and drove the 1,200 kilometres from Barcelona to Misano for this weekend’s Gran Prix. Having regularly been on the MotoGP World Championship calendar since the 90s, the 4.23-kilometer-long circuit is popular with fans and riders alike. In 2021 it was the scene of the Repsol Honda Team’s most recent 1-2 finish when Marc Marquez won the race from Pol Espargaro.
Aside from his 2021 victory, the eight-time World Champion has claimed three additional victories and two podiums at the Italian seaside track. Arriving in 2023, Marquez has a different focus as he looks to put together another consistent weekend and continue development work on the Honda RC213V. Achieving two safe finishes in Barcelona, the #93 has been able to consistently build and fight for points after a run of DNFs.
Like his teammate, Joan Mir walked away from his home round with two safe finishes but continues on his quest for improved traction. On paper, the Gran Premio Red Bull di San Marino e della Riviera de Rimini should offer a boost in this department. The 2020 MotoGP World Champion took podiums in both editions of the San Marino race in 2020 on his way to the title.
After the race, Monday offers teams and riders a final in-season test – a chance to experiment with setup for the end of the year and sample what’s to come in the future.
“Another race, another chance to keep on working. Misano is a circuit that is again a bit different to Austria and Barcelona, so continuing our work with testing here is important for the data. Personally, I have had some good races in the past in Misano, so let’s see what the situation is after the first session. We also have an interesting test scheduled for Monday, the last test during the season before we make a big push for the end of the year so we need to make the most of it, ” said Honda rider Marc Marquez.
“Of course, the objective is to be better here in Misano than last weekend. It’s a track that generally has more grip than in Barcelona, which I think will immediately give us some improvements. We need to keep working as a team and trying a few things to improve the feeling and challenge the other Honda riders like we have at various points in the year. Let’s have a productive weekend and avoid falls in order to be in good condition for the test,” said Honda rider Joan Mir.
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