When Marc Marquez announced his departure from Honda at the end of 2023, it sparked something in Luca Marini. It reminded him of his childhood dreams - riding in the same iconic colours once worn by his half-brother Valentino Rossi at HRC. Leaving behind the comfort and solid results of his family-run VR46 Racing Team, the Italian took a leap of faith to join Honda’s 'resurrection' project at its lowest point.
Now, as the team shows clear signs of recovery, the 28-year-old speaks with Motorsport.com about Honda’s transformation, his own evolution as a rider and the mindset driving him through one of MotoGP’s toughest challenges.
Motorsport: From the outside, you come across as a very private person, someone who keeps his personal life to himself and doesn’t enjoy media attention.
Now, as the team shows clear signs of recovery, the 28-year-old speaks with Motorsport.com about Honda’s transformation, his own evolution as a rider and the mindset driving him through one of MotoGP’s toughest challenges.
Motorsport: From the outside, you come across as a very private person, someone who keeps his personal life to himself and doesn’t enjoy media attention.
Luca Marini: Yeah, does it seem that way? I just think I’m someone people don’t talk about much, that’s all. Probably because I’m calm and don’t do crazy things. I like my private life to stay private. I’m not very extroverted, but if people talk about me, I’m happy. I don’t do anything to avoid it.
The recent good results — especially the podiums by Joan Mir in Japan and Malaysia — do they confirm that Honda is on the right path?
Yes, absolutely. The step forward has been huge, but it’s still not enough. Now comes the hardest part. When you’re just three tenths off the pace needed to win, closing that final gap is the most difficult thing to do.
Personally, in what ways do you feel you’ve contributed to Honda’s progress?
In many ways, honestly. Since I joined Honda, a lot has changed — especially the way we work. We’ve really improved that. We have more people now; before, there were fewer staff working directly with the riders and the team. On the technical side, I’ve helped in many areas. I think my biggest contribution has been trying to give engineers real answers — not just asking for things, but working together to find solutions to every problem.
In a way, could we say you’re trying to bring your own personality and work ethic into the team? Early in 2023, it seemed like Honda had lost its direction and everyone was pulling in different ways.
You could say that, yes. I love racing and winning, working on every little detail and always pushing at 100%. In the past, Honda relied a lot on Marc’s talent — because with his ability, he could make up for what the bike lacked — but they lost their way a bit with technical development.
People say you’re an engineer disguised as a rider. Is that technical mindset part of your job, or is it just your personality?
Everyone’s different. Personally, I’ve always loved the technical side of motorcycles. I’m passionate about finding the bike’s maximum performance from that perspective. Sometimes it’s a problem, because some riders don’t care about the bike’s mechanics — they just push 100%, and if it works, great. But I like to know, understand, and learn how everything works.
