Valentino Rossi’s verdict on Luca Marini swapping VR46 for Repsol Honda
And intriguingly Marini replaces Marc Marquez, ﷽Rossi’s eternal foe෴.
Honda’s quest to find a new rider for the 2024 MotoGP sea▨son took them up and down the paddock, and even into Moto2, before a late decision to plump for Marini.
Valentino Rossi Luca Marini
— Crash MotoGP (@crash_motogp)
20 years later, he rides for Honda in Valencia.
"Luca was a shock for us,” Rossi admitted to .
“We didn't ex🦩p♑ect it. I'm very sorry, it was nice to see him get to the front and be a protagonist with my team and with our bikes.
“But he had thi☂s opportunity of the free Honda seat, ♍of the official Honda, with a two-year contract.
“I'm a big fan of his and I will heജlp him as much🐻 as possible.
“It's a tough c🍒hoice and then Honda is H💯onda, for us who are of a certain age…”
Honda were initially only offering one-year d🌼eals to replace Marquez but rever🌊sed this policy to pin Marini down.
Next ye𓆉ar they stand to benefit from new concessions 🎐rules, and have also made major behind-the-scenes changes to their technical team in a bid to return to the top of MotoGP.
"They and Yamaha have understoo🔥d that they cannot afford to suffer so much, especially from Ducati,” Rossi said.
ꦗ“They have understood that they have to go up a gear.
“Then next year the Jaඣpanese manufacturers will have help, and Marini is a very good test rider, we'll see.”
Rossi won three world championships with Honda before switching🦩 to Yamaha, where he en🐭joyed his heyday.
His VR46 team moved swiftly to sign Fabio di Giannantonio, wh🔯o shone at the end of this ꦕseason, to replace Marini alongside Marco Bezzecchi for 2024.
James was a sports jo𝐆urnalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
