Twin Ring Motegi, Haga District, Tochigi, Japan, Thursday, September 25th, 2025 – For Honda HRC Castrol, round 17 stands out as a first time to show off their new colours to Japanese fans and the perfect circuit in which to continue their impressive march forward
Located deep in the mountains of Tochigi, Mobility Resort Motegi was built by Honda in 1997 as an all-around test track and even included an oval circuit. Where a number of Honda Racing Corporation machines have taken their first corners, the 4.8-kilometre-long circuit has hosted the Japanese Grand Prix since 2004 and has seen a number of Honda riders claim victory, and World Championship titles, across the years. Characterized by some of the hardest braking on the calendar, the rears of MotoGP machines can regularly be seen wagging off the ground.
Luca Marini arrives with the top ten in the World Championship in his sights, consistently getting quicker upon his return from injury after the Dutch GP. Not only is the top ten overall a target, but also top Honda honours as Marini continues to eat into Zarco’s early points advantage. The gap sits at 33 points, and with six rounds remaining – it’s all to play for. In 2024, the #10 took 14th place in the Japanese GP and will be aiming for much more in 2025. His speed and progress have continued to highlight the impressive development work performed by Honda HRC’s engineers over the last 12 months.
Last of the late brakers, Joan Mir’s style, the strengths of the Honda RC213V and the layout of Motegi are a match up with strong potential. Having spent a week focusing on recovering from his neck injury suffered in Misano, Mir is prepared for a busy weekend in Japan as he aims to replicate his form from previous races. Despite his poor run of luck, the 2020 MotoGP World Champion has already amassed more than double the points he scored in 2024. His best premier class result in Japan is eighth place from 2019.
The factory pair will be joined by Takaaki Nakagami on the grid, the Japanese Test Rider returning to MotoGP action for the fourth time in 2025 – his second appearance as a wildcard with the Honda HRC Test Team.
Sharing his thoughts, Luca Marini said, “We arrive at Honda’s home in a really good moment; I am looking forward to riding in front of all of the Japanese fans there who have really adopted me even more since joining Honda. A good point about the Japanese GP is we get to meet with many of the staff based in the HRC offices in Japan, speak with them, make plans and also show them what their hard work has helped to achieve. Sometimes in Motegi the weather can change a lot but the forecast is looking quite warm. Let’s enjoy with our home fans.”
While Joan Mir said, “It’s always a really busy weekend in Motegi on and off the track, you really feel like a Honda HRC factory rider here. Motegi is a circuit I enjoy and I think it should suit where our bike is strong at the moment. The injury in Misano, the crash on Sunday, it was disappointing and stopped us from showing the potential we have. As at other races, we need to be strong from Friday and avoid incidents. I think you can see the improvements the engineers have made with how both myself and Luca are able to be fast on Friday, we need to keep this line and improve in a few more areas.”