At the Assen MotoGP, all four Honda riders stood out by opting for the soft rear tyre—a decision that set them apart from the rest of the grid, where nearly everyone else selected the medium compound. Luca Marini, the top Honda finisher in 11th place, explained that the choice was less about strategy and more about necessity.
“We didn’t have a lot of choice, sincerely,” Marini said after the race. “With the medium, the grip for us is zero. The bike is sliding everywhere too much, so we cannot defend ourselves with the medium rear tyre. The soft was basically our only option.”
Both Marini and his Honda teammates found themselves struggling to make up ground during the race. Marini, in particular, got caught up in a chaotic incident at turn five early on, losing time and finding it difficult to pass riders ahead. “I felt I had a little more pace,” he said, “but I was stuck, and when I finally overtook Jack Miller, I pushed too hard on the soft rear and had to start managing it just to survive to the end.”
Despite knowing the soft tyre would drop off in the final laps, Marini said Honda’s RC213V simply couldn’t generate enough grip on the medium compound to be competitive. “We knew the last eight laps would be tough, but it was our only real option.”
While the soft tyre allowed the Honda riders to be competitive in the early stages, the lack of grip and tyre wear ultimately limited their ability to make progress as the race went on—a reflection of Honda’s ongoing battle to find pace and consistency in the 2026 season.
