Luca Marin🦩i has countered claims from MotoGP team-mate Joan Mir that Honda didn’t bring anyth🌟ing new to the post-season test, but warned progress will still take time.

Mir was left unhappy after last week’s test at Barcelona, which he fel𝔉t was “not productive”, as everything Honda had brought to try had already been used before𝔍.

ꦗLCR’s Johann Zarco said he tried a new bike from Honda but it was “nothing posiܫtive”, though also stressed that there was no need to hit the panic button yet.

Marini, by contrast, said he had more to tes🐼t than he expected, with the 2025 prototype “for sure being the base for the Sepang test”.

The Italian felt the new chassis improved the front-end of the bike, but didn’t do anything to improve the rear traction🎉 issues the Honda has faced all year.

“꧑On my side I had quite many things to try, sincerely.

“I also expected to have not many things to try because this was the p🥃lan, but finally I had quite a lot of things: a new prototype bike that will for sure be the base for the Sepang test.

“Obviously it’s still not as🐼 fast as the standard bike we had during the weekend but something positive found.

“ For sure we still need to work on the weaknesses of the bike𒁃 that are always the same, but some things went fine and other things went bad.

“But t🍌his is quite normal as the first test🌞 of the 25 [bike].”

On t💖he new chassis, he added: “I think it ch𒐪anged quite a lot, because the frame is a huge change.

“On the front part ther🌟e is something good, something positive.

“On the rear part still we need 💞to improve, but there are quite a lot more settings we need to try because the frame is a very big change.

“They didn’t make a small change; they made a huge change to understand the direction for the futurܫe. But maybe something is good, something not.”

Marini noted that the test of the chassis “was not made perfectly”, so any negatives may not have actually related to the frame and could be morಞe to do with overall bike set-up.

Honda will be at Jerez this week for a final test of 2024, where Marini says “there is also new stu🧸ff, more interesting I would say.”

But when asked if it was realistic to expect Honda, who finished last in the constructors’ table in 2024, can make a significant step for the first test of 2025, he said: “I don’t know. Before Sepang I think it’s a little bit early. We wait till maybe miไd-season to make a very good step.”