Joan Mir withdraws from Italian GP due to hand injury

Repsol Honda rider, Joan Mir, has withdrawn from the Italian GP due to a hand injury. The 2020 MotoGP world champion crashed at Turn 1 during the hour-long session, marking his 12th crash this season, more than he had in the whole of 2022 while riding for Suzuki. Honda has stated that Mir suffered damage around the fifth finger of his right hand and would not continue with the weekend due to the “demanding nature of the Mugello Circuit.”

Marquez as the sole factory rider

As a result of Mir’s withdrawal, Marquez will be the team’s sole factory rider for the weekend’s races. Marquez returned from injury at the last round in France, where he was in podium contention before crashing. He finished eighth in the combined timings on Friday, guaranteeing him a place in Q2. Alex Rins was the highest-placed Honda rider for LCR, finishing the day third, with team-mate Takaaki Nakagami in 21st.

Mir’s performance this season

Mir has scored just five points since joining Honda for 2023, all of which came at the season-opening Portuguese GP. He was ruled out of the Argentina race the following weekend after crashing in the sprint, having been taken to hospital with cranial and cervical trauma. Mir then crashed out of four consecutive races – the United States GP, both races in Jerez, and in Le Mans. Following his double crash at the French GP, Mir admitted he is “scared” of suffering the same fate as Jorge Lorenzo and Pol Espargaro at Honda given the difficulties he currently faces.

Partnering with Marquez

Mir is the fifth different rider in six years to partner Marquez at Honda, following Dani Pedrosa in 2018, Lorenzo in 2019, Alex Marquez in 2020, and Espargaro in 2021-22. Pedrosa’s final year was his first winless one in MotoGP, while Lorenzo’s MotoGP career was effectively ended by the woes he suffered at Honda.

Joan Mir has withdrawn from the Italian GP due to a hand injury. This marks his 12th crash of the season and follows a series of crashes that have resulted in a lackluster performance this season. With Marc Marquez as the team’s sole factory rider, Honda will look to improve their performance at the races despite Mir’s absence.