The Monday following the San Marino Grand Prix is a big day for Honda since its 2024 MotoGP prototype will be tested for the first time by Marc Marquez and Joan Mir. Honda is currently experiencing one of its most challenging seasons in MotoGP, having achieved just one victory and now sharing the bottom position in the manufacturers' championship with Yamaha. Given how difficult things have been at Honda, speculation that Marc Marquez may defect to Gresini Ducati in 2024 has been nonstop. The importance of Monday's test at Misano has received great attention, despite the fact that both sides have rejected it. Marquez, however, has recently tried to downplay this. The Honda test rider, Stefan Bradl, participated in a wildcard event at Misano over the weekend, riding the bike that will be used by the factory runners on Monday. Performance-wise, the 2024 prototype doesn't seem to be very different from the current bike, but Mir, who was knocked out of Sunday's San Marino GP due to an accident, would rather see one huge modification that costs in other areas than see little gains elsewhere.
MotoGP: Stefan Bradl Test's 2024 RC213V During San Marino GP
Although the 2024 prototype engine is anticipated on Monday, Honda had fielded a wild card entry in the form of test driver Stefan Bradl at Misano. On Monday, Marquez and Mir should have access to whatever Bradl was running, but Honda has taken the unusual step of preventing them from doing so.
Also Read: MotoGP: Marc Marquez Says, 'I Know Where I Will be Racing in 2024' Amid Honda Switch
On completing the 27 laps of San Marino GP, Stefan Bradl said, "The work that we have done this weekend has been important and productive. We have had a few highlights such as qualifying but there is still a lot of work to do. It’s nice to get a bit of extra input and compare ourselves to the rest of the MotoGP field. Tomorrow we are again ‘in our world’ for the Test, which I think a lot of people are going to be watching very closely. A weekend with some positives, now we aim to do the same in the test."
MotoGP: Marc Marquez Takes 7th Place in San Marino GP
With Sunday's 27-lap of the San Marino GP conclusion, the Repsol Honda Team garage continued its weekend of improvement. Marc Marquez, who started ninth, had another strong start and quickly moved up into the grid. As he followed Maverick Viales, he worked his way up to sixth position by lap nine and stayed there for the rest of the race. The eight-time MotoGP World Champion was not really threatened until the closing laps when Miguel Oliveira, Raul Fernandez, and Luca Marini all tried to pass him.
Also Read: MotoGP San Marino GP: Jorge Martin Dominates at Misano, Closes Gap on Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia
With this result, Marquez and Honda continue their current streak of strong performances, with Marc Marquez scoring points in three straight races and finishing in the top ten for the first time all season. This voyage will continue with a bang on Monday at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli for the last MotoGP test of the season where Honda riders will be testing the 2024 MotoGP bike.
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