Joan Mir sets date for Honda MotoGP return after illness layoff

Joan Mir has set his intended return date after missing a number of MotoGP races with illness.

Mir’s problem with the mystery illness first became apparent at the San Marino MotoGP in September when he said he was operating at 50 per cent of his maximum energy levels.

The following week Honda announced Mir would miss the Austrian Grand Prix, where he was replaced by Takaaki Nakagami.

Mir also went on to miss the Japanese Grand Prix, where Somkiat Chantra filled in, and the Indonesian Grand Prix, where Aleix Espargaro flew to race only to pull out ahead of the Sprint.

All of Honda’s replacement options have been unavailable for this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix and, to make matters worse for the Japanese factory, Luca Marini was struck down with a virus on Friday and has had to withdraw from the weekend as well.

The good news for Honda is that Mir appears set to return. He posted on social media today a photo of him with his flat track bike.

The photo was accompanied by the caption “See you in Malaysia”, indicating the 2020 MotoGP champion is expecting to return to racing next week at Sepang, where last year he finished on the podium.

This year’s Sepang race would be Mir’s fourth-from-final appearance for Honda, with Qatar, Portimao, and Valencia scheduled for November before the Spaniard is due to head to Gresini for 2027 after four seasons at Honda HRC.

As for Marini, it’s currently unclear when he will be able to return. When he was declared unfit on Friday, MotoGP chief medical officer Angel Charte said: “For the past week, Luca Marini has been suffering from a viral condition and a high fever for three to four days. 

“For the last 48 to 72 hours, he has been suffering from muscle weakness caused by the virus, affecting both his upper and lower body. 

“During the last examination, conducted on Saturday morning, he presented with the same symptoms and was declared unfit. His condition will be assessed again in Malaysia.”