Marini “surprised” by Pedrosa praise, “he was a point of reference for me”

Luca Marini says he was surprised by Dani Pedrosa’s high praise after the pair’s battle at the Spanish MotoGP.

01 Jun 2023

Now in his third MotoGP season, Marini has become one of the more consistent since jumping aboard last season’s title-winning GP-22 bike.

The Mooney VR46 Ducati rider, who has two podiums to his name through five rounds, is currently sixth in the world championship heading to his home round at Mugello next weekend.

One of the results that helped him cement a spot inside the top six in the championship was his result at the Spanish Grand Prix, which came after a race-long battle with Pedrosa.

Back in MotoGP as a wildcard rider for KTM, Pedrosa was sensational throughout the Jerez weekend, however, just like the Spaniard did when he received praise from several riders for his performance, the former Repsol Honda rider was keen to tell Marini how impressed he was with the Italian’s ride.

After calling him a very ‘clean rider’, Pedrosa told Marini face-to-face that he could do with changing his lines in order to keep his rivals guessing, but that his precision was very impressive.

After watching their conversation back, Marini told MotoGP.com: "It’s nice! I was really surprised at all the compliments that Dani gave me. I tried to use his comments to improve myself, my riding.

"He told me to, more-or-less, make some crazy things, make more mistakes during hard braking to not let riders behind analyse my riding style.

"I really appreciate it from him as a rider. Watching the 250cc, he was an idol and a point of reference for me."

While Marini has been strong so far in 2023, his teammate Marco Bezzecchi has been even better after claiming two wins.

But even so, Marini does not feel as though another step forward is needed: "I don’t think that I need to make another step. I’m strong now, I’m fast and I’m just trying to fight for the podium in all the races.

"If there is the possibility to win the race then it’s perfect, but if not, then just being there everytime. That is the goal every time.

"My teammate is fast and has achieved great results this season. But I’m focused on myself. The teammate is another rival like other riders.

"If you don’t win the race then it doesn’t matter if another rider or your teammate won the race. It’s the same. It’s just that you didn’t win."