Honda left without factory riders at Phillip Island GP as Luca Marini withdraws
Photo: Race Pictures
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Connor Andrews is Formula 1 and MotoGP writer for GPblog and various outlets. Having worked in motorsport for 15 years for leading companies, he has interviewed the sports biggest names and attended multiple Grands Prix.
MotoGP’s most successful team will, incredibly, not be able to field a rider at the Australian Grand Prix.
Honda already entered the final race at Phillip Island a man down, with Joan Mir still unavailable for unknown reasons.
Now, in a remarkable turn of events, Luca Marini will also not take part.
Luca Marini ruled out of Australian Grand Prix after medical assessment
A team statement from HRC before Free Practice 2 read: “Despite continued rest and treatment, Luca Marini’s condition remains unchanged, and the Italian has been ruled unfit as a result of the virus he continues to suffer from.
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“After careful consideration from the MotoGP Medical Team led by Dr Angel Charte, Luca Marini will miss the Australian Grand Prix as he continues to suffer from a lack of power due to the virus he has been suffering from since before the weekend.
“His target is to return next weekend at the Malaysian Grand Prix where he will undergo another medical check.”
Marini had already missed Friday's running but there was hope he would return as HRC's only available rider.
Honda's ongoing injury crisis
Teammate Mir has missed the last three races due to an unknown issue.
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Honda already had injury concerns in the wider pool of talent, with test rider Aleix Espargaro spending much of the year on the sidelines due to an early-season back break.
Following Mir's withdrawal, Honda already had Takaaki Nakagami penned in as a test rider for the Japanese Grand Prix, so they called Somkiat Chantra over from WorldSBK as Mir's replacement.
Nakagami was then meant to take over, but also got injured in Japan, ruling himself out.
Espargaro then returned to the fold in Indonesia the last time out, but withdrew from the action due to pain from his early-season injuries.
Mir was initially scheduled to miss just two races, with Honda not revealing the source of his problems.
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Team boss Alberto Puig provided an update in Phillip Island, saying: "We've been talking to him in the last few hours, and the intention is for him to come to Sepang.
"We'll see how he feels, but he's made a big improvement. I can't say more because I don't know more, but I think he'll be with us at Sepang."
Honda, MotoGP's most successful team, will pick up zero points in the teams' championship, and will rely solely on LCR for points in the manufacturer's championship.
The ongoing issues also mean the Japanese giants are missing out on crucial testing time for the new era of 2027 regulations.
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