The Repsol Honda team rider finishes third in the Japanese Grand Prix. Joan Mir is twelfth to earn four points.
The Mobility Resort in Motegi hosted a MotoGP race made tricky due to rain. On the second lap, the flag-to-flag protocol was implemented, and most of the riders changed bikes to go to a wet setup. When 12 laps had elapsed, race direction showed a first red flag and, after a restart, a second red flag terminated the race.
Marc Márquez made progress in the rain. The Repsol Honda Team rider started seventh on the grid, and by the fourth lap he was already in the podium positions. He went as high as second, being one of the fastest riders on track, but when relegated to third position he was able to maintain the pace and fight to finish third at the red flag.
Joan Mir also had a good race at Motegi. The Repsol Honda Team rider started fifteenth and due to the onset of rain he gained eight positions, fighting to get into the Top 5. In the end, he was twelfth, taking 4 points.
The MotoGP World Championship will return to action on the weekend of October 13-15th in Lombok, Indonesia.
MARC MÁRQUEZ – 3rd
“It feels great to return to the podium after so long away, and to do it here in Motegi, at Honda’s home, with so many fans and people from Honda here, honestly it is quite romantic. In the race it was all about understanding the wet tyres once we switched over, at the start it was quite dry so it was important to be careful to not destroy the tyre. I stayed calm and when I saw there was more water on track, I began to attack. I was feeling really good with my pace and I think we could have had an interesting end to the race, but ultimately Race Direction did a really good job and they made the right call at the right time. I want to say thank you to them and of course all of the Repsol Honda Team as well, days like today have many factors at play and my team worked really well to handle everything. This podium is what we have been looking for all year and it’s a nice boost for the last push in 2023.”
JOAN MIR – 12th
“I had some visibility problems with my helmet unfortunately, it’s something I have never had in the past and today was the day. It’s a big shame, I couldn’t see so I was missing my reference points on track. When I was fighting with Miller I could see a bit, but then the rain came heavier, and it was enough to stop me. I’m really disappointed because I think we showed that there was some good speed there and we could have done something more. Now we have a week off to train and recover a bit before we go racing again.”
