Honda faced a frustrating start to the Indonesian Grand Prix as all three of its riders struggled to find competitive pace during Friday practice at Mandalika. With grip and bike control proving major concerns, the manufacturer was left searching for answers ahead of the remainder of the weekend.
The difficulties were particularly evident for factory rider Luca Marini, who finished 14th in Practice, around 1.3 seconds off the leading pace. The result marked a worrying contrast with his performance at Mandalika last year, when he equalled his season-best finish of fifth.
Marini’s best lap of 1m30.037s was also around three tenths slower than his equivalent practice time from the previous season. While Trackhouse Aprilia rider Raúl Fernández set a new lap record, Honda appeared to have made little progress at a circuit where it had previously shown greater promise.
“Our level is so low today compared to last year,” Marini admitted, acknowledging that he could not immediately explain the drop in performance.
The Italian identified a lack of grip at both ends of the bike as his main problem, making it difficult to ride consistently and push for a faster lap.
“The front is never following my directions and there is always very low rear grip,” he explained.
The lack of confidence was not limited to the factory garage. Pro Honda LCR rookie Diogo Moreira, who has frequently been among Honda’s strongest riders over a single lap this season, also struggled to adapt to the Mandalika circuit.
“In general, we are super bad here,” the Brazilian said.
Moreira found it particularly difficult to extract performance from the soft tyre during qualifying simulations. Without sufficient feedback from the front end, he struggled to build confidence and questioned whether he could complete a lap without crashing. Two falls during Friday further underlined the challenges he faced.
His difficulties echoed Marini’s concerns, suggesting that Honda’s problems extended beyond an individual rider or a single bike setup. Both riders struggled to find the grip needed to push confidently, leaving the team with significant work to do before qualifying.
Johann Zarco also reported a tougher day than expected. The Castrol Honda LCR rider pointed to a poor initial setup and the excessive sliding that made it difficult to find a consistent rhythm.
“The way we were sliding was really not good,” Zarco said.
With all three riders facing similar issues, Honda now needs to identify the cause of its lack of grip and improve the RC213V’s balance before the competitive sessions resume.
The gap to the front highlighted the scale of the challenge. While rivals were finding speed and setting new benchmarks around Mandalika, Honda’s riders were still trying to establish a reliable feel for their machines.
For Marini, Moreira and Zarco, the priority is to make meaningful progress with the setup and restore confidence in the front and rear tyres. Unless Honda can address those weaknesses, its riders face an uphill battle to compete with the leading manufacturers for the remainder of the Indonesian Grand Prix weekend.
