Under skies that threatened rain, Marc Márquez and Joan Mir finished the sprint race at the Catalan Grand Prix in 11th and 21st position, respectively.
The eight-time World Champion started the day positively, qualifying for Q2 after being the second fastest rider in Q1. Márquez eventually placed twelfth on the grid, on the fourth row, and in the sprint race fought for the points before crossing the line eleventh.
Joan Mir was unable to make his way into the session that would define pole position and started the 12-lap contest from twentieth position, on the seventh row on the grid.
The Repsol Honda Team rider tried to gain some positions in the early stages of the sprint race but, in the end, finished 21st.
MARC MÁRQUEZ – 11th
“I had an important day today, for me, for my feeling and my confidence. It was just Q1, but we were able to do a really strong lap and be much faster than we expected. In the Sprint race I was able to stay with the top group for half the race more or less, pushing to the limit, but we were able to do it. Both of these things give me a bit of extra motivation to keep carrying out our work in this way. Tomorrow will be a much longer race, so let’s see what we can manage in that.”
JOAN MIR – 21st
“Today’s race was very difficult, this is clear. We continued to struggle with grip and the reality is that there are many corners here which highlight our weaknesses. The team and I will spend tonight looking at everything deeply to try and improve the situation for tomorrow. I am still able to brake and enter the corner well, but we need to work on the other areas.”
