Top-ten potential went unrewarded for the Repsol Honda Team as both Joan Mir and Stefan Bradl crashed out of strong positions in the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas as Honda returned to winning ways.
The tale of Texas came to a disappointing end for the Repsol Honda Team with both Mir and Bradl falling while running in prime positions. Mir had a promising start to the race and was gaining steady ground as the race settled into its rhythm. Moving to inside the top ten on lap eight, Mir was feeling comfortable but fell on lap nine when battling with Morbidelli and his race was unfortunately over.
Avoiding injury in the fall, Mir is disappointed with the end result but is determined to come back again at the next round in Jerez. Mir remains focused on the positives of the weekend – a change to the ergonomics of the bike left him feeling more comfortable in the race with scope to continue improving his performance and riding style.
Stefan Bradl was able to get to the front of the Test Rider battle relevantly early in the race, spending the following laps closing down Augusto Fernandez and a potential top ten. With just two laps to go, Bradl was the final of ten fallers in the 20-lap race and also walked away uninjured but disappointed in the final outcome.
Alex Rins put in a perfect performance to end his strong Americas GP weekend, the LCR Team rider keeping calm under the intense pressure of the race to achieve his first win aboard the Honda RC213V. This sees the Honda return to the top step of the MotoGP podium for the first time since the 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix when Marc Marquez led a Honda 1-2. For LCR, they achieve their first win since Cal Crutchlow captured victory at the 2018 Argentina GP.
The Repsol Honda Team now prepare to return to Europe for the Spanish Grand Prix at the iconic Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto on April 28 – 30.
Joan Mir #36DNF
“Overtaking on this track is always a challenge and I crashed while trying to battle with Morbidelli. Everyone has good grip in the first laps, so it is hard to find an advantage early in the race. I was fine after the crash, it’s certainly a shame because we could have had a really good result here. The important point from this weekend is that we found something with the bike that I think can help us a lot in the future. It’s the best feeling I have had with this bike so far so we are focusing on this as we move towards Jerez.” Stefan Bradl #6DNF
“Today we had a lot of potential, the top ten was right there. Of course I am disappointed not to be able to get this result because something like this gives you a big boost – especially when you are a rider like me stepping in for only a few races. It was a strange crash without much warning, but clearly the conditions on track were difficult with many falls. I was riding well and felt quite good on the bike, so this is very positive.”