Johann Zarco's victory at the French Grand Prix seems to have given a lot of hope to the brand's other drivers, who now believe they have sufficiently competitive equipment to fight at the front. Joan Mir and Luca Marini certainly have high expectations ahead of the British Grand Prix.
Following a French Grand Prix marked by a heavy crash on the first lap, Joan Mir approaches the British Grand Prix at Silverstone with determination and complete confidence. Despite suffering a broken finger and leaving France with neck pain, the World Champion MotoGP 2020 has confirmed its participation in this weekend's GP.
Between Le Mans and Silverstone, Joan Mir focused on his physical recovery, and the tests he underwent ahead of the next stage of the calendar were encouraging.
"We did additional tests between races and everything seems OK, reassures the Spaniard. There's some damage to the top of my finger, but I was able to continue training and preparing more or less normally. I've been working a lot with my physiotherapist on my neck. We have also made progress on this side."
The Honda driver, who never considered skipping Silverstone, continued: "The plan and the situation for the weekend don't change. We showed at Le Mans that we have the necessary speed. We just need a little luck. We have to get back to Q2 to avoid anything that could happen in the first laps. That's what we have to do."
Honda drivers on high after Le Mans
Joan Mir isn't the only one showing such motivation ahead of the next round of the championship, given the brand's recent results have been satisfying. The British weekend will also see a stronger presence from the Honda HRC Test Team, with Aleix Espargaró returning to the saddle of the RC213V as a Wildcard.
A presence that delights Joan Mir's garage neighbor, Luca Marini. Struggling at the start of the season, the Italian was surprised to find a good feeling on his Honda at Le Mans. He assures us that the work done by the brand's test team played a big part in this.
“The start of the year has been good. Now we must look to take a step forward and become even more competitive, comments the Transalpine in turn. Everyone involved has done a really good job. You can tell that with everything the test team is doing. Everyone at Honda HRC is giving it their all!”
"We've been very busy between the two races. I'm sure we can put in a good performance and add some points to our card. This year, we're going to Silverstone at a different time of year, so we have to see what the weather has in store and react accordingly." concludes Luca Marini, while most of the drivers on the grid are worried about the surprises that the weather in Great Britain has in store for them.
It should be noted that while the odds remain low, the factory riders will attempt to give the Japanese manufacturer its first victory in two consecutive MotoGP races since 2021. Marc Marquez then won the Grand Prix of the Americas and Emilia-Romagna.
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