Lacking energy and vision: Joan Mir (Honda) is putting that behind him

Spain’s Joan Mir secured a direct place in Saturday’s Qualifying 2 after finishing 10th in Friday’s MotoGP free practice session in Malaysia. The 29-year-old Honda works rider put in a strong comeback in tricky conditions following his struggles with a mysterious illness that had sidelined him for seven weeks.

This made Mir the fastest Honda rider, just ahead of LCR veteran Johann Zarco. “I’m very happy. This is an unexpected result; I hadn’t expected to finish in the top 10,” explained the cheerful 2020 MotoGP World Champion during a small media session, having confirmed he will ride for Gresini Ducati next year. “For Saturday, this is a great reward for all the work I’ve put in over the past few weeks. It means more to me than you can see here.”

Joan Mir had his Honda stripped down

Mir’s team-mate Luca Marini ended up in 17th place, 0.8 seconds slower than the Spaniard – he was 1.462 seconds off the fastest rider, Marc Marquez (Ducati). “The bike is basically the same as the one I left behind at Misano,” explained Mir. “The crew were able to take stock a bit; we went back to the set-up we started the season with. That really helped me to perform at this level. I felt better on the bike.”

On the condition of the track, Mir said, as did many other riders: “There are quite a few stones coming loose from the tarmac. It’s at the limit, especially on the straights. There are also some tricky corners, such as numbers 1, 4, 9 and 12. We’ll have to adapt to that.”

Joan knows: “Physically, I won’t know how I’m doing until Saturday. Mentally, I feel refreshed after this break, that’s for sure. Because of the lack of energy and my eyesight, I had to take a complete break for three or four weeks. That’s not ideal, because you lose your form. But over the past week and a half, I’ve been able to make up for that. Physically, it was okay today. However, I almost always only did three, four or five laps at a time. We’ll have to see how it goes in the race – Sepang is a very demanding circuit.”

Topic of the week

Soon-to-be world champion Kimi Antonelli: The inevitable will then follow in Mexico

The 20-year-old Italian Kimi Antonelli had the chance to secure the 2026 World Championship title at the US Grand Prix. He did everything right: victory in Texas. The title celebrations have nevertheless been postponed. Until Mexico.

Mathias Brunner

Read More

TV Program

Tomorrow

Sepang: International Livestream

MotoGP World Championship

31.10.2026 - 01:35