The pace of the final stage of the 2024 MotoGP World Championship continues at full speed as the Repsol Honda Team arrive in Thailand, ready to do it all again.
There will be no need for the Castore winter jackets used in Phillip Island as the MotoGP paddock arrives in beautiful Buriram for round 18 of the season. 4.55 kilometres long and with seven right and five left corners, the Thai track has created a reputation for last lap, last corner battles – sometimes even to decide World Championships. As is often the case, heat and humidity will feature prominently during the weekend – an extra demand on riders, machines and mechanics.
Luca Marini arrives off the back of his best weekend to date as a Repsol Honda Team rider, qualifying 13th in Australia set him up for two spirited rides to tenth in the Sprint and 14th in the GP. Tackling the challenges of the more stop-and-go focused Buriram will allow Marini and his side of the Repsol Honda Team garage to continue their work from Motegi. Last year Marini earned third place in the Thai GP Sprint.
With a third DNF in a row, Joan Mir needs to return to the form which saw him take 11th in the Emilia Romagna GP. It is clear the 2020 MotoGP World Champion and the Honda RC213V have a lot more speed and potential than they have been able to show in recent rounds. Having achieved a decent point scoring finish at the Thai GP last year, Mir is determined to deliver this year.
An important weekend, the World Championship returning to Buriram in just a few months for testing and the start of the 2025 season.
Luca Marini
“Our work from the start of the year is paying off and I am happy with what we have been able to achieve in the second half of the year. We need to keep on working hard like this to prepare well for next year. Buriram is a very different track to Australia which is important for us to keep developing the Honda. I like the layout of Buriram quite a bit and have good memories there from the past.”
Joan Mir
“I am ready to have some good luck for a change. It has been a difficult few races for us because I know what we can do a lot more than me are showing but things that are out of our control have caused us to miss out on some opportunities to achieve more. We need to finish the year well and pick things up before testing starts in just a few weeks. My focus and objective does not change, I know what we can do.”
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