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Austin: Joan Mir and Stefan Bradl collected important data over the course of the Americas GP Sprint race, taking 12th and 18th place, respectively, in the Sprint race at the Grand Prix of the Americas.
Saturday at the Grand Prix of the Americas brought the third weekend of the new 2023 MotoGP World Championship format, with morning Qualifying followed by the Sprint race in the afternoon. The 10-lap battle was again a thrilling affair over the 5.5 kilometers of the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
Q1 saw Mir again on the brink of passing through, the #36 setting the second-fastest lap of the session with just moments left on the clock. A final flying lap from Zarco knocked Mir out of the crucial top-two spots with Mir ultimately securing 13th on the grid for the Sprint and feature race.
From the head of the fifth row, Mir made a strong start and immediately began to battle with the likes of Oliveira and Morbidelli. After running wide early in the race, the Repsol Honda Team rider focused on his recovery and steadily picked his way back up the field to cross the line in 12th place. While Mir was aiming for more, the Sprint race did yield important information to continue his adaption to the Honda RC213V.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]On the other side of the garage, Stefan Bradl continued to make improvements and qualified in the 21st. The German then headed into his first-ever MotoGP Sprint race aiming to gather as much data as possible and avoid any unnecessary risks. This attitude saw Bradl achieve his target of finishing as the top Test Rider in the race as he crossed the line in 18th position.
Alex Rins scored his debut podium finish on the Honda RC213V as the LCR Honda rider put in an impressive performance to take second place - equalling his qualifying result. This is Honda's second Sprint podium of the season.
Sunday will see the full 20-lap Americas Grand Prix. Both Repsol Honda Team riders are eager to return to the track and put their learnings into action and take advantage of Saturday's results.