Luca Marini will remain in the Honda HRC Castrol squad for a third season after re-signing with Honda Racing Corporation.

After completing his initial two-year contract with Honda Racing Corporation, Luca Marini has re-signed with Honda HRC Castrol for the 2026 MotoGP season.

The Italian joined the Japanese manufacturer at the start of the 2024 MotoGP season, and struggled in his debut season with Honda, as he only scored 14 points and ended the season in 22nd place.

However, across his second year with the factory Honda squad, Marini has made drastic improvements as he has 72 points to his name and is 13th in the Championship standings after 14 race weekends.

"I am very happy to make this announcement and remain with Honda HRC," Marini said.

"We have just been working on a few final details, both HRC’s management and myself have been aligned on the future for quite a while. I am completely invested in this project and determined to help Honda return to the front in the MotoGP World Championship.

"Since joining the team in 2024, we have continued to improve and work together in an ever-improving way. Working with a factory, and especially a factory like Honda HRC, gives you huge motivation as a rider. We have had a good season so far and the focus remains to continue improving until the very last lap in Valencia."

HRC General Manager, Taichi Honda, added: "We are happy to continue with Luca for another year, he has shown a high level of professionalism and dedication throughout.

"Luca has earned himself a reputation as an analytical rider and an incredibly hard worker, a valuable asset to any MotoGP project. Luca’s feedback is clear and precise and has been very useful for Honda HRC’s engineers in continuing the development of the Honda RC213V over the past season and a half."