Mir salvages top ten in dramatic Jerez Sprint
Circuito de Jerez - Angel NietoThere was hardly a lap without incident as the Spanish GP saw Joan Mir battle through the field, running as high as sixth before recovering to tenth after contact. Marini unharmed after a late fall.
Overnight rain and morning showers gave the MotoGP World Championship grid a brief morning practice session to adjust to the conditions. With this knowledge in hand, the Repsol Honda Team head into Q1.
Starting from 20th on the grid, Mir was able to make a strong start to the race and immediately make forward progress. His march would be immediate and constant as other riders around him hit troubles or fell afoul of the lingering wet patches on track. Running into the top six in the final stages of the race, contact with former teammate Marc Marquez saw the #36 lose multiple positions as he was forced off. Recovering to tenth at the line, Mir missed out on points by a single position.
Luca Marini made an even stronger start to the race than his teammate, flying up into 16th after starting in 22nd position. Maintaining this position would see the #10 on the edge of the top ten in the penultimate laps. Unfortunately, Marini would also count himself as one of the victims of the treacherous conditions as he fell from the race right at the end. Unharmed in the fall, Sunday’s race brings new opportunities.
Both riders will get another chance to show their speed on Sunday in the 25-lap Gran Premio Estrella Galicia 0,0 de España. Dry but cool conditions are predicted, and as today’s Sprint showed – anything can happen in MotoGP.
I was feeling a lot better with the bike today and I was riding well. The conditions weren’t easy with some wet patches still on track and it was a chaotic race. I made a great start, and I overtook a couple of guys, breaking away from the group behind me and I was with Raul Fernandez most of the race. I then had contact with Marc Marquez, and I lost three or four positions. Last year there was a similar incident between Quartararo and myself and I had a double long lap penalty the next race.
It was a crazy race, there were a lot of wet spots and the wind was very high. It was really easy to make a mistake and especially in the Sprint race where everyone is pushing a lot and trying to overtake a lot, it’s quite difficult. Especially for us where we are struggling in ‘normal’ conditions, it made it really hard. I fell alone like many other riders at Turn Five. There was a lot of wind and a big wet patch on the outside. I am okay and we try again tomorrow.
Coming in as a wildcard, the Sprint is always the most unique part of the weekend. I was honestly feeling quite good in the race and was happy with the progress we were making. Conditions were quite difficult as it had been wet in the morning and there were still some patches out on track. Sadly, we fell right at the end as we were on for a good result with what was happening around us. I am OK after the crash, so we go again tomorrow.
