Luca Marini once felt like he ‘made a mistake’ replacing Marc Marquez at Honda

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Luca Marini had huge shoes to fill when he made the switch from VR46 to Honda in 2024. He would be replacing Marc Marquez.

It marked the first time that the Italian would be a factory rider in MotoGP, and he would be taking arguably the most coveted seat in the sport. Marquez is Honda’s greatest rider of all time, having won six titles between 2013 and 2019.

But after his near-career-ending crash at Jerez in 2020, the Ant of Cervera found himself struggling to regain full fitness or return to his past form. Honda had regressed dramatically, with the RC213V proving incredibly difficult to ride.

Marquez left Honda for Gresini in 2024, opening the door for Marini to replace him. The Italian soon realised the magnitude of the job at hand.

Luca Marini admits he felt he ‘made a mistake’ replacing Marc Marquez at Honda

In 2023, Marini recorded his best finish in MotoGP with VR46, grabbing two podiums and finishing eighth. But in 2024, his first year with Honda, he had his worst season to date.

The Italian finished 22nd in the standings with just 14 points. He recalled via Motosan that he felt he had made a huge error joining Honda.

“At first, I thought the challenge was enormous… and then I realised it was even bigger,” he said. “Marc and Joan had more than 50 crashes. When you see that from the outside, you don’t understand why. When you experience it from the inside, you realise the level of chaos that existed.

“That period was very tough on a personal level. I went from achieving podium finishes to not even being able to fight for points. I often wondered if I had made a mistake.

“Motivating the team after Marc Márquez’s departure wasn’t easy. He was a role model for everyone, and suddenly we lost that figure who kept people united, even in the worst moments. We had to rebuild from scratch.”

READ MORE: Everything to know about Luca Marini from his net worth to half-brother

Luca Marini has been pivotal to Honda’s progression in MotoGP

Marini felt Honda’s reliance on Marquez hampered them as their other riders were miles behind the Spaniard. When he left for Ducati, they suddenly had a huge mountain to climb.

After a horrific 2024 season, the Japanese giants made huge strides forward to improve their fortunes. Johann Zarco won Honda’s first race since 2023 at Le Mans, while Joan Mir scored two podiums in the second half of the season.

The team made strong progress after the summer break, and Marini played a key role in those improvements. His consistency during the season, retiring only once all year, helped Honda develop the RC213V into a solid contender.

Honda are now rank C in the concessions system, which will limit them in terms of testing and development in 2026. However, the noise coming from the team suggests that they will not need those extra tests, as they are making the progress that they set out to.