A short trip from the United Kingdom down to Austria brings the MotoGP World Championship to Round 10 of the calendar.
The Repsol Honda Team pairing of Marc Marquez and Joan Mir arrive in Austria open minded and ready to work. Race weekends in Austria have been dominated by sudden storms, dramatic red flags and last corner wins in the past and the 2023 edition looks set to be no different. The 4.32km long track is one of the shortest of the year but boasts some truly dramatic scenery as well as as layout which favours hard late braking for dramatic overtakes.
Marc Marquez has finished on the podium in Austria on three occasions, second from 2017 to 2019. In 2023, the goal of the eight-time World Champion is to continue working with HRC for the future, aiming to improve as the year goes on. Since returning from England, Marquez has continued to work diligently with his team to improve his physical condition with steady steps being made.
Races at the Red Bull Ring have seen Joan Mir achieve some of the key milestones of his career. In 2016, he took his first Moto3 win at the Austrian track and in 2020 he stepped onto the premier class podium for the first time when he finished second. The #36 will be using this past experience and track knowledge to try and put his run of Sunday misfortunes to an end. For Mir, a weekened without falls and completing the maximum number of laps is the goal.
Marc Marquez
“I’ve used the time between races to keep working on my fitness. Every day is a bit better, so let’s see what is possible in Austria. The weather there can be a bit mixed, so we will need to work well consistently to make the most of the weekend. We know that it will be another weekend of working hard to try and improve and make a step for the future.”
Joan Mir
“We come to the Red Bull Ring looking to build off what we did in the previous race. Sunday didn’t go to plan, but overall with the weekend we were able to make progress and get back to being comfortable on the bike. This is the line we need to follow again and really try to maximise the time we have on track.”
- From Repsol Honda Team
