Joan Mir “won’t stop trying” after nightmare German MotoGP

Joan Mir and Honda’s struggles reached a new low at the German MotoGP as he was beaten on-track by Stefan Bradl before the Honda test rider was given a post-race penalty.

Mir was over 43 seconds behind race winner Francesco Bagnaia, while also finishing over 17 seconds down on all three other full-time Honda riders.

After crashing out of the Italian and Dutch grand prix’s, therefore, finishing the 30-lap race at Sachsenring was a step forward, albeit one that won’t feel like it given the lack of performance and issues he faced.

Mir said: “We have to use this weekend to understand what happened and how to avoid it in the future.

“Again, I was unable to unlock my full potential and I was struggling more than the other Honda riders.

“A long race, a tough race and one to learn a lot from. The team and I have already been looking through the data and we have some ideas on what to change in the future.

“We don’t stop working, we don’t stop trying and aim to come back in Silverstone stronger.”

On the other side of the garage, Luca Marini scored his first point of the season finishing 15th - 0.037s behind Takaaki Nakagami.

While it’s been a tremendously difficult start to life at Honda, Marini was upbeat post-race, saying: “I am happy with what we have done in the first half of the year overall, this is the most important thing.

“Of course, I didn’t expect to struggle so much but we are starting to turn things around now.

“Our effort from the opening races is starting to pay off and now we have to see what’s going to come after the summer break.

“The gap to first today is good, the track plays a part, but we are making improvements.

“Everyone in Honda is working together in the same direction, let’s keep it up after a short break.”