Luca Marini's Austrian MotoGP weekend turned painful, both physically and competitively. The Honda HRC rider was struck in the chest by a piece of bodywork from another rider's bike during the race at Red Bull Ring.
The incident occurred in the chaotic early laps. Marini, who had started from the back, was already involved in contact with other riders. But the real blow came when braking for Turn 4. A blue piece of debris flew into his chest. Marini believed it was the wing from Fabio Quartararo's Yamaha.
“I think it was Quartararo's wing,” Marini said. “I saw a blue piece that hit me in the braking of Turn 4. I don't know if he had contact with somebody on the straight between Turns 3 and 4. I saw the wing, I tried to avoid it, but it hit me in the chest.”
Marini admitted he was in a lot of pain for two corners. “I had a lot of pain for those two corners. Then I tried to forget about this and focus again on my riding,” he added. He was relieved that the injury wasn't worse. “Just a little bit worried at the beginning. Now I have a little bit of pain here in the chest. Fortunately, everything went well, but it could be much worse.”
The race itself was a struggle for Marini. A poor first lap left him at the back. “I just did a bad first lap. I had some contacts with the guys behind. A little bit of chaos and I was really in the back, really last,” he explained. He tried to stay calm and manage the rear tyre and fuel, hoping others would drop back. But only Diogo Moreira and Quartararo suffered from rear tyre degradation, while the rest remained strong until the end.
The main issue for Marini was the harder-construction rear tyre that Michelin brought to Austria. This tyre caused problems for many riders, especially Ducati, but Marini struggled more than others. “I struggle a lot with this tyre. For me, I had a lot of problems with the temperature with the rear. I had a lot of spin and I cannot manage more than this because I'm not opening the throttle and putting the bike full straight. I'm not using the ride height device. I just try to keep the temperature as low as possible, but even like this, I have 20 degrees more than the other Honda riders. I really don't understand,” he said.
Marini also pointed to his taller and heavier build as a possible factor worsening the tyre temperature issue. Despite trying numerous bike setup changes, nothing worked. “We tried everything on the bike. Sincerely, we modified a lot the bike. We go shorter, higher, loading more the rear, trying to find more the grip. Everything that we can do, we did. No effect,” he stated.
He eventually finished 14th, the third-best Honda after Johann Zarco and Takaaki Nakagami, who was substituting for the ill Joan Mir. This race served as a tough lesson for Marini and Honda HRC as they look ahead to the rest of the season. Marini's physical condition is being monitored, but he hopes to recover quickly and perform better in the next round.
Baca Juga
Maverick Vinales kembali ke lintasan MotoGP dalam tes Pirelli di Red Bull Ring Austria. Uji kondisi bahu sebelum kemungkinan turun di Motegi.
Fabio di Giannantonio sebut Red Bull Ring sebagai akhir pekan terburuknya di MotoGP 2026. Finis kesembilan, terpaut 15 detik dari Pedro Acosta.
Luca Marini alami nyeri dada usai terkena wing Quartararo di MotoGP Austria. Simak kronologi insiden dan kesulitannya dengan ban belakang Michelin.
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