Luca Marini: Honda chatter problem “completely solved”

Luca Marini says Honda’s long-running MotoGP chatter problem has now been “completely solved”.

Extra grip produced by Michelin’s revised 2024 rear tyre seemed to trigger chatter, or chronic vibration during cornering.

While Ducati and Aprilia found a way to avoid the problem, the shaking continued to hamper the likes of Yamaha, KTM and Honda during last season.

However, speaking at the Thai MotoGP season opener, Marini said the issue has now been resolved.

“It depends a little bit on the tracks and the tyres that we have. But here I remember that last year there was a big vibration in Turn 4,” he added.

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“We worked a lot during last season, and now we have a good balance.”

Marini emphasised there was no single solution but a combination of technical and riding style changes.

“Many things,” he said. “We improved the setting of the bike, first of all, and during the last part of the season, it was better.

“And the riding style also. We adapted and improved how to ride, to force in a different way in corner entry to not create this vibration.

“Because if we go much more aggressive, like I would say with a lot of rear brake, then the vibration starts.

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“If we are smoother, the vibration is less.

“During all last season, I was the rider with less vibration because I was riding more smoothly.

“So now the others are also doing a little bit more this kind of thing and it works better. But also, the setting of the bike is improved.”

Honda’s next challenge is to improve rear grip, as it seeks to build on a wet race win with Johann Zarco last season, plus three dry podiums.

“The bike is good, we found more performance, but still we need to work on our main target, that is the rear grip,” Marini confirmed.

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“It’s clear to everybody and soon some updates will arrive, but we need to wait a little bit more.”

The rear grip deficiency is a bigger hindrance when using the soft rear tyre during time attacks and Sprint races.

“We cannot extract the potential from a new soft rear tyre,” Marini said.

“When we go out with the medium rear tyre, the gap compared to the top is less. [Sometimes] I’m more competitive than with the soft.

“So we need to work more on this.”

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Marini finished tenth in both Buriram races.

Team-mate Joan Mir was the top Honda in the Sprint (seventh) before retiring from fifth place late in the grand prix due to extreme rear tyre wear.

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