If Joan Mir is ill: Honda will pull the next rider out of a hat

Joan Mir continues to be a cause for concern for Honda. The Spaniard has been battling a mysterious illness for months and missed the Grands Prix in Austria, Japan, Indonesia and Australia. Mir and the team led by MotoGP chief medical officer Dr Angel Charte had decided that he needed to take a break to get to the bottom of the cause of his illness. The 2020 world champion was given the all-clear for Sepang, but had to retire from last Sunday’s main race due to dizziness. Now his participation in the desert races in Qatar this coming weekend is also in doubt.

Behind the scenes, Honda is making preparations in case Joan Mir is once again unable to ride in Doha. As test rider Takaaki Nakagami broke his left collarbone in early October and Aleix Espargaró wants to focus on testing the new 850cc bike, Honda needs another replacement.

Should the 29-year-old Spaniard be unable to ride, Jake Dixon will step in. The Briton is a Honda works rider in the World Superbike Championship and was – shall we say – deeply annoyed when HRC selected his team-mate Somkiat Chantra as a replacement for the Japanese Grand Prix instead of him, despite the fact that he has been performing significantly better in the production-based world championship.

Jake Dixon has Mini-MotoGP experience

Unlike Chantra, Dixon has never completed a full MotoGP season, but he does have some experience with these bikes. In 2021, the 30-year-old stepped in for the injured Italian Franco Morbidelli at the Silverstone and Aragon rounds with the then Yamaha satellite team, Petronas SRT.

Dixon has time on his hands, as the Superbike World Championship concluded in mid-October at Jerez, with the Englishman finishing 19th overall. Having ridden relatively little this season following his protracted hand injury – he only took part in the SBK tests at Phillip Island in February – Jake is still hungry for more. However, the man from Southampton also has bad memories of the Gulf state: in 2024, the family man was banned from flying due to lung problems following a heavy crash, had to stay in the country for a week and was only able to make the journey home afterwards.

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06.11.2026 - 10:55