MotoGP, Marini: "I'm looking forward to the test at Mugello."

He finished last on Sunday, and so far this is nothing new given that since Qatar he has never been any better than second to last, with a dramatic championship tally of zero points that puts him behind even wild cards like Dani Pedrosa, who has appeared in only one race weekend, but what is perhaps most alarming is the chronometric gap also accumulated over the first man in front of him, in France Alex Rins, who finished nine seconds ahead of him.

"The problems are always the same, specifically corner entry and acceleration, so I'm looking forward to the test at Mugello," he said despondently, "What I can't understand is how come on Friday I was always on the same pace, while on Saturday everything changed and Mir did a very good Sprint Race and also in the GP he was doing very well, until, unfortunately he crashed. So we have to understand this without having any idea why this is happening. Ahead of us we have a lot of work to do, but I am confident that the updates that will be brought to us will move us up the grid a little bit, although not very much."

Asked what new features Honda will bring to Tuscany, the Marche rider remained evasive: "We have come to a good compromise, so there will be several new parts to try. As said, I am optimistic. I don't expect a radical change, but I think it can be the first of many steps to progress by the end of the championship."

Constantly finding oneself running in the back of the pack can be demotivating, but the 26-year-old is not giving up: "I always try to give my best by working on my style and position, as Bagnaia and Martin are showing that with the body you can make a difference. In my opinion, their way of riding so low on the bike will be the key to the future of our sport. Everyone is trying to imitate them a bit and so am I."