A hard-charging Joan Mir found himself devoid of luck again, unable to avoid the fallen bike of another rider. Aleix Espargaro completed the Dutch GP and leaves with valuable insight for the Test Team.
The weekend in the Netherlands continued to be a one of promise masked by complications and external factors for the Honda HRC Castrol team. Joan Mir was able to make another strong start from 13th on the grid, able to join the battle for the top ten by just the third lap. Lapping at a similar pace to the race leaders, the #36 closed down the gap to Quartararo and the group ahead. Unfortunately, a high side from Fermin Aldeguer just ahead would result in Mir being unable to avoid Aldegeur’s stricken Ducati, ending Mir’s race with a heavy fall. The 2020 World Champion will return home for further checks after being cleared of any major injuries at the circuit medical centre.
Aleix Espargaro’s 26-lap Dutch Grand Prix followed a similar schedule to his Dutch GP Sprint. Starting well, the Honda HRC Test Rider found himself quickly in the point scoring positions and worked to defend himself from several other riders. As in the Sprint, the #41 had to shift his attentions to riding around the vibrations from his machine and crossed the line in 16th place as a result, just shy of the points. Although the final results were not as he wished, more seat time will only benefit him and Honda HRC in the future.
After an intense pair of races, Honda HRC Castrol will now have a brief period of rest before another set of back-to-back races in Germany and at the returning Brno Circuit. Both Grands Prix will be key for Honda HRC to find their early season form and continue progressing.
Brno will host a test ahead of the German GP where Luca Marini will assess his physical condition after his heavy fall in Suzuka.
Aleix Espargaro
16th
“For me it was a much more complicated race than I thought it would be in all honesty. We had a lot of vibrations throughout the whole race, and I was running wide a lot, and I had to focus on finishing the race. I know that I can do more, you can see that Mir and Zarco are able to accomplish some good results. We need to work on improving this vibration so that the other riders can focus on going as fast as possible. It’s good to have this weekend under our belt, some good information to take back to my job as a tester.”
Joan Mir
DNF
“First of all, I am happy that Fermin is okay because he took a big fall and when you fall like that in the track – it’s complicated. I was really happy with how my race had started, my lap times were close to the guys at the top and I was gaining on the groups in front. I couldn’t do anything to avoid the crash unfortunately. It was a big hit also for me, I’m in quite a lot of pain so I’ll return home and check my condition in a few days.”
