A ‘day to forget’ - Joan Mir sufferers from ‘vomiting’ at Qatar MotoGP test

Joan Mir still completed over 30 laps but the Honda man was heavily impacted by a stomach bug at the Qatar MotoGP test.

The 2020 world champion suffered from vomiting before heading out for a final stint that resulted in a crash at turn 13.

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All four Honda riders struggled for outright pace on the final day of testing in Qatar, but for Mir, his physical condition played a pivotal role in that.

Mir told MotoGP.com: “The truth is that today I woke up with not the best feeling on my body. I was without energy and with some stomach problems. 

“Then, we started at 3:30pm more or less and made a few runs but then I needed to stop for a bit. I was vomiting at that moment.

“We decided to stop and then I was honestly not feeling well to go back out. But we had many things to try and we made an important exit with the electronics side.

“There was something on the power delivery that I was having doubts about and wanted to check again. That’s what we could do today.

“In the last minutes we made a mistake trying to make a time attack and then I lost the front in turn 13. That was the end of the day.

“We couldn’t practice the starts so it was a day to forget. I wanted to go back to bed and wake up again to start this day again. But it is what it is. I wanted another day of testing after this one but we don’t have it.”

Mir finishes 1.5 seconds down on Francesco Bagnaia’s new unofficial lap record, but the Spaniard is confident of shaving half a second or more off that when fit.

“At 100% we will be able to improve our lap time,” began Mir. “Not by 1.5 seconds but I think maybe a half second is something we can do.

“Being on the pace all the day and working on the laps - but we will arrive less prepared than I wanted for the first race.

“I have confidence that the team will put [on the bike] what I couldn’t today and to have a good package for 2024.”