Mir bounces back from red flag crash

Joan Mir has hurdled the first major setback of his MotoGP career after fighting through a high-speed off at Jerez to return to track action for Suzuki to reach the top 10 on the opening day.

The Spanish rookie triggered a red flag stoppage around 1pm on the opening day of the Jerez winter test after losing the front of his Suzuki under braking into Turn 7 at the end of the long and fast back straight.

Despite a trip to the medical centre to get the all-clear, Mir returned to action for the majority of the afternoon and instantly went quicker than his morning efforts. Mir ended the day ducking into the 1m 38s bracket going quicker on his final lap to take 10th place on the final timesheet – within one second of pace-setter Danilo Petrucci on the factory Ducati.

Mir appeared confused by the first heavy crash of his burgeoning MotoGP career but apart from a swollen elbow the 2017 Moto3 world champion was pleased to battle back.

“It was not a nice one,” Mir said about the crash. “It was because we tried the medium front and then I lost the front in that point, almost with the bike straight, that was a bit strange, but we have to check.

“The good thing is that then, when I rode the bike again in the afternoon, the first lap I improved my lap time.

“So this is important, to not think so much about the crash, and luckily I'm fine, I only have the elbow is swollen, and I have a bit of pain when I'm riding the bike. With the fuel tank normally you touch with the elbows, and I felt a bit of pain, but nothing important.

“Then I was able to improve my feeling with the bike, and also my pace, I was surprised because it was quite good. Then on the last exit, we put a new tyre and I was able to do a 1m 38s, which is really nice for the first day.”

While Mir remains focused on finding a stable feeling and set-up with the factory Suzuki, the Spanish rider is already helping provide the team feedback on 2019 options including engine specifications – with the majority of the development work previously placed on team-mate Alex Rins and test rider Sylvain Guintoli.

“We are trying things,” he said. “We are trying things in the electronics, engine brake, all these things that I need to understand.

“But the set-up is not changing a lot at the moment. We changed the chassis which is not a lot.”