After the announcement that Marc Márquez will not compete in the Grand Prix of the Americas due to an injury suffered in Portimao, the Repsol Honda Team will field official rider Joan Mir and test rider Stefan Bradl at the event.
The third round of the 2023 season will take place from Friday at the Circuit of the Americas, Texas. Marc Márquez will miss the weekend which closes the flyaway section of the season before the return to Europe.
Joan Mir will be back on his Honda RC213V, despite having missed the Argentinian GP race due to a crash in the Saturday Sprint Race. The Repsol Honda Team rider has been on the podium twice in Texas: In 2018 in Moto2 and 2022 in MotoGP. He will try to continue improving his feeling in a difficult start to the season.
Replacing Márquez, Stefan Bradl will once again represent the Repsol Honda Team. At COTA, the German has a 4th place from the 2014 MotoGP race as his best result. He arrives in Austin after carrying out a test on Monday and Tuesday at the Circuito de Jerez Ángel-Nieto, with the aim of improving the performance of the Honda bike.
JOAN MIR:
“I am ready to get back on the bike in America, I have been able to spend this week at home recovering fully after the fall on Saturday and getting back to training. Last year I had a strong race in Austin and Honda also has a very strong record there, so the objective is to have a consistent weekend and avoid problems. If we can get a complete race weekend under our belts, I think we will be able to learn a lot and make another step because in the two races are where you are learning the most about the Honda.”
STEFAN BRADL:
“First of all I want to wish Marc all the best in his recovery, as Honda we need him back on track. I arrive in Austin after a few days testing in Jerez where we were able to try a few things with the bike. It will be interesting to ride COTA again, I was last there racing in 2016 and will give me a chance to try the 2023 RC213V on a very different kind of track compared to what I have ridden so far this year. Let’s have a productive weekend and see what’s possible.”
