The Honda HRC Castrol team can leave the Buriram circuit with a smile. In the latest pre-season tests held in Thailand, the Honda troop in fact inherited the role of revelation that had been Yamaha's in Malaysia, showing that they have made great strides over the winter.
Therefore, Luca Marini's balance of the day can only be positive.
And even more so that of his teammate Joan Mir, who at the Chang International Circuit managed to rediscover on the RC213V some sensations he had not felt in a long time and to finish with the sixth fastest time on Thursday.
"The truth is that I am very happy. It couldn't be otherwise, because even though I could have maybe improved my lap time a little bit, I'll take the feelings, the pace in the Sprint and all the work we did with the team.
Today we put it all together," the Mallorcan said, "Yesterday was a very complicated day, because some technical problems prevented us from trying everything we should have tried.
We discarded a lot of things and that made everything much more precise today and so we were able to evaluate much better the things that really worked.
Everything went really well and I'm starting to feel good on the bike and handling the bike wonderfully. I'm starting to brake hard the way I like and get into corners sideways.
I'm happy, because I've been able to get back some feelings from the past that I haven't been able to feel for a long time, and this allows me to go fast."
A nice boost of confidence for the two-time world champion, fresh off what at the moment seems to be the best day of his career in Honda.
"Yes, in Honda yes," he admitted, "But not for the day: the package and the bike are the best in years. It's clear that in the past it was a different story: Honda has had much better times than this, but since I've been here the bike has improved so much."
Mir then commented on Alberto Puig's words about how important it is not to crash for a top rider.
Also explaining how he dealt with the difficulties he encountered in Honda and how much today's feelings can help him.
"The fact that the bike is going is what helps the most, however, I have to say that Alberto knows me a lot. We have worked together since the Red Bull Rookies Cup days, he experienced the Moto3 title with me, and he also experienced the Moto2 phase closely.
Then I decided to go to Suzuki, but we have always been close and he knows me well.
He knows that when things go wrong I get down, but it's probably because I'm not used to it. I got used to the good results I achieved at the beginning of my career, then I came to MotoGP and won the title in my second year.
I never had such a tough time until I got here. This Alberto has it very clear, but you have to be good even in tough times, because motivation is easy to lose," acknowledged the 27-year-old.
"When you're motivated by the good results you've always had and suddenly you stop having them, where do you get it out of? It's not easy.
I think it's happened to everyone, I think even Valentino (Rossi, ed.), for example, when he went to Ducati was on the verge of retiring, because it doesn't satisfy you to finish 6th after winning so much.
Imagine me, who won much less than him, and I have 20th and 18th places and not 6th. I don't want to compare, but it's kind of like that."
What is Joan doing to deal with this dark period?
"I try not to think about it, to train a lot at home, to have a positive and very productive atmosphere around me and a very solid base, which I think I have achieved.
Talking about the races, it's been a long time since I've had fun and I come here because I have to come here," he replied, "In these days of testing, on the other hand, I had a lot of fun.
Not because of the results, but because I can ride the bike the way I like it, and that's no small thing. We'll see if we can maintain this excitement and turn things around, as is happening here."
Also giving the Spanish rider confidence is the progress Honda has made in terms of internal organization.
"I think the team right now is being run in a better way than in previous years," he acknowledged, "We have strengthened the test team so much that it now works well.
Then, we have inside the box the figure of Romano (Albesiano, ed.), something that creates communication with the Japanese and which I think has been very well received by them.
I am happy with how the structure is going. What happened in testing, the fact that we were able to be strong, is not magic.
We solved a couple of problems inside the box, and I'm sure that will pay off. It's already starting to pay off."
Less elated but equally positive is Luca Marini. Although he knows that there is still some way to go to get back to fighting for the top positions, the Marche rider can be satisfied with the progress made in preseason testing.
"The balance is positive. In the end, we can be happy after these five days of testing, because we have clearly chosen the package with which we will start this first part of the championship.
The sensations have improved, we can brake harder for now and we have to continue like this.
We have also made progress on the electronics level: our electronic engineers have been good at bringing us something that could be very positive for the future," noted the Honda rider, who is also clear about the areas where there is still work to be done.
"We know what the priorities are, and the engine is definitely the main one, because now that Yamaha is also going very strong in the straights we were kind of the only ones not doing that.
And when it comes to a race where you have to fight against others, you can't do your lines and the tires get so hot, the engine is the most important thing there is
All the more so when you have to take four tenths off again," he said, "For now, I can't say anything about the grip because the track was incredible so there was plenty of grip for us as well."
Does the goal of consistently getting into Q2 seem more realistic after these two days of testing in Thailand?
"I don't know. When there is normal grip on the track we will see if we will be able to repeat the times we did today, because Joan also did a fantastic time.
I'm not sure we'll be able to run those times when we come back here, but we'll see," he replied, "The others, on the other hand, I'm sure they'll be able to do it - that's the problem!"
