LUCA MARINI SAYS AUSTRIAN GP CHEST HIT “COULD HAVE BEEN MUCH WORSE” AFTER DEBRIS STRIKE

Luca Marini’s Austrian Grand Prix was defined by two setbacks: an early tangle that left him fighting from the back, and a frightening moment when debris from Fabio Quartararo’s Yamaha struck him in the chest. Despite the damage to his race, Marini said afterward that he was fortunate not to suffer worse consequences.

Marini qualified 15th, far from the pace he wanted, and the race itself began in chaotic fashion. As he explained after the event, “I just did a bad first lap.” He also described how contacts with riders behind him pushed him into the very end of the field: “I had some contacts with the guys behind. A little bit of chaos and I was really in the back, really last.”

From there, Marini tried to manage the situation rather than force the pace. His plan was to stay composed, look after the rear tyre and fuel, and wait for others to lose grip. “Then I tried to stay calm and say ‘Okay, now I just manage the rear tyre, I manage the fuel, and let's see if somebody in front of me will drop with the rear’.”

However, the race did not unfold as hoped. Marini finished 14th, and while he was able to limit the damage, he struggled to make meaningful progress once the field settled. Crash.net reported that he was the third-best Honda in Austria, behind Johann Zarco and Takaaki Nakagami, with Nakagami riding in place of the sick Joan Mir.

The most serious moment came when Marini was hit by a piece of bodywork. He believed it was Quartararo’s wing: “I think it was Quartararo's wing,” Marini said. He described seeing a blue piece during braking for turn four and then feeling it hit him: “I saw a blue piece that hit me in the braking of turn four.” He added that he did not know exactly how the debris came loose, saying, “I don't know if he had a contact with somebody in the straight between three and four.”

For a brief period, the impact left him in significant discomfort. “I had a lot of pain for those two corners,” Marini said, before explaining that he tried to move past it and focus on riding again: “Then I tried to forget about this and focus again on my riding.” He later summarised the situation with a clear message about the risk involved: “Fortunately, everything went well, but it could be much worse.”

Beyond the incident, Marini pointed to tyre problems as another major factor in his weekend. He said the grip situation changed as the event progressed, but not in a way that suited him. “It started well because the grip was low for everybody,” he explained. “Then for the other guys, it looks like it [grip] improved; for me, it's still a disaster.”

He also said Honda tried multiple adjustments to address the rear tyre behaviour. “We tried everything on the bike,” Marini said. “Sincerely, we modified a lot the bike. We go shorter, higher, loading more the rear, trying to find more the grip. Everything that we can do, we did. No effect.”

Marini singled out the Michelin rear tyre brought to the Red Bull Ring, noting that it had been problematic for other manufacturers as well. He said he struggled with it even compared to fellow Honda riders, who were able to keep lower temperatures. “I struggle a lot with this tyre,” he said. “For me, I had a lot of problems with the temperature with the rear.”

He elaborated on the gap he felt in tyre temperature management, saying he had more heat than the other Honda riders: “I just try to keep the temperature as low as possible, but even like this, I have 20 degrees more than the other Honda riders. I really don't understand.” He suggested his physical attributes might play a role, adding, “Of course, maybe it's because I'm tall and I weigh more than the others.”

Marini also described how the tyre limited his ability to accelerate fully, stating, “I had a lot of spin and I cannot manage more than this because I'm not opening the throttle and putting the bike full straight.” He said he was not using the ride-height device during the race and that, despite his efforts, the weekend had been tougher than expected.

In the end, Marini’s Austrian GP combined a painful bodywork strike with a difficult tyre and grip picture. While he acknowledged the discomfort he felt in the chest, his overriding takeaway was relief that the incident did not lead to serious consequences.