Joan Mir will return to MotoGP action for this weekend’s Americas Grand Prix after missing the Argentinean GP, while Stefan Bradl will step in for the injured Marc Marquez.
Mir was forced to skip the Argentinean GP after suffering cranial injuries in a crash on the opening lap of the sprint race at the Termas de Rio Hondo venue, though after two weeks of recuperation the Spaniard is ready to continue his learning process of the Honda RC213-V following a tricky opening couple of rounds.
Having scored a best finish of 11th so far in the two races he has completed on his new steed, Mir says his target is to enjoy a “consistent weekend” at the Circuit of the Americas in order to ease himself back into the fray.
“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,” said Mir.
“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.”
Honda also announced on Wednesday morning that its test rider Stefan Bradl will make his first race appearance of the season in place of the injured Marc Marquez, who confirmed on Tuesday that he would be forced to skip the Americas encounter due to his fractured right hand still not being in good enough shape for competition – the six-time premier class champion keen to recover in time for the Spanish GP in two weeks time.
The German will therefore make his first premier class start since last year’s San Marino GP, in which he scored points with a 14th place finish as a stand-in for Marquez.
