Steps forward for both Luca Marini and Joan Mir, the Italian taking a satisfying 13th while Mir's performance is restricted by an early fall. Hard work and a methodical approach paid off for Luca Marini on Saturday in Japan as he was able to make significant View this email in your browser   Sprint Race Report Saturday, Oct 5th 2024   Grand Prix of Japan MotoGP 2024   Round 16 Day of progress for the Repsol Honda Team in Japan Steps forward for both Luca Marini and Joan Mir, the Italian taking a satisfying 13th while Mir's performance is restricted by an early fall. Hard work and a methodical approach paid off for Luca Marini on Saturday in Japan as he was able to make significant progress over the course of the day. Qualifying down in 20th, the only way was forward as the field lined up for the 12-lap Sprint in Japan. With the conditions changing minute-by-minute, a calm and focused approach would be the order of the day. Able to run within four tenths of his best race lap, a 1'45.418, Marini picked his way through the field to end in 13th and take top Honda honours. Dark clouds gathering overhead throughout Free Practice 2 set the scene for a dramatic Qualifying. Joan Mir entered Q1 primed to fight for the transfer positions after making progress in the morning. The tricky conditions with small, intermittent showers of rain made for a tough session where Mir ended seventh. A lightning start saw the #36 gain places straight away in the Sprint, but a crash would nullify that progress. Remounting, Mir showed impressive pace as he consistently lapped in the mid to low 1'45s, matching the speed shown by the top ten. He retired at the end of the race. Both riders were able to accomplish significant progress overnight and take positives from their respective performances. Sunday offers another chance for the Repsol Honda Team to not just focus on the positives but also demonstrate them. The 24-lap race is scheduled to start at 14:00 Local Time and is set to be another edge of your seat affair. Luca Marini  10 13th  "I was surprised at our pace; it was very close to the group in front of me and our position isn't too bad, so I have to be satisfied with today when we look at where we were yesterday and where we started the race. We knew coming here that the layout of this track would be tough for us, but we have been able to fight and make progress which is the key. Now we need to check the data of the other riders to see what they are doing differently. Some more things to try in the morning to make another step, but we are making progress and able to do this at each race now." Joan Mir  36 DNF  "It is easy to look at our position and be upset, but when we look at what happened today was a day of positives. On the first lap I almost high-sided at Turn 10 and then when I arrived to Turn 11 I couldn't stop so I went into the gravel. I recovered and after a couple of laps I was able to really unleash my speed and I have to say I am happy with my pace. The speed was that same as the guys fighting in the top eight and we have to be happy with that level of improvement. A better grid position would help us a lot. Tomorrow I am feeling confident for the longer race with the speed we showed today." Japanese GP - Sprint Result Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Constructor Time/Gap 1 Bagnaia Francesco 1 ITA 12 Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 21'01.074 2 Bastianini Enea 23 ITA 9 Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 0.181 3 Marquez Marc 93 SPA 7 Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati 0.349 4 Martin Jorge 89 SPA 6 Pramac Racing Ducati 2.498 5 Morbidelli Franco 21 ITA 5 Pramac Racing Ducati 4.326 6 Di Giannantonio Fabio 49 ITA 4 Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team Ducati 4.446 7 Marquez Alex 73 SPA 3 Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati 11.444 8 Miller Jack 43 AUS 2 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 11.875 9 Vinales Maverick 12 SPA 1 Aprilia Racing Aprilia 11.947 10 Bezzecchi Marco 72 ITA 0 Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team Ducati 12.299 11 Fernandez Raul 25 SPA 0 Trackhouse Racing Aprilia 14.559 12 Quartararo Fabio 20 FRA 0 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 14.645 13 Marini Luca 10 ITA 0 Repsol Honda Team Honda 15.886 14 Zarco Johann 5 FRA 0 LCR Honda Honda 16.170 15 Fernandez Augusto 37 SPA 0 Red Bull GASGAS Tech 3 KTM 20.522 16 Rins Alex 42 SPA 0 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 24.415 17 Savadori Lorenzo 32 ITA 0 Trackhouse Racing Aprilia 25.482 18 Gardner Remy 87 AUS 0 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 32.620 19 Mir Joan 36 SPA DNF Repsol Honda Team Honda DNF 20 Espargaro Aleix 41 SPA DNF Aprilia Racing Aprilia DNF 21 Acosta Pedro 31 SPA DNF Red Bull GASGAS Tech 3 KTM DNF 22 Nakagami Takaaki 30 JPN DNF LCR Honda Honda DNF 23 Binder Brad 33 RSA DNF Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM DNF Copyright Free Images For editorial use only, click here to download images. Location Information Located amongst the vast natural beauty of the northern Kanto district, the twin ring circuit at Motegi in Japan consists of a 1.5 mile oval and a 2.9 mile road course constructed to international standards. Built by Honda as the ultimate test facility in August 1997, the road circuit became… read more. Length 4.801 kilometres / 2.983 miles Width 15 metres Left corners 6 Right corners 8 Longest straight 0.762 kilometres / 0.473 miles Constructed 1997 Circuit Records Pole Position 1m 43.018s (167.7km/h) Pedro Acosta (KTM, 2024) Race Lap 1m 45.198s (164.2km/h) Jack Miller (Ducati, 2022) Race Time 42m 21.259s (163.2km/h) Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha, 2014) 2024 Sprint Winner Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) 2024 Race Winner TBC Twin Ring Motegi, Haga District, Tochigi, Japan –  View in Google Maps www.twinring.jp/english You are receiving this email because you have registered your interest with Honda Racing Corporation If you no longer want to receive emails from Repsol Honda Team - MotoGP, please click here to unsubscribe .