The hard work continued for Honda HRC Castrol at round nine, Joan Mir and Takaaki Nakagami diligently working throughout a complicated weekend to capture 14th and 15th in the Sprint.
Temperatures and tensions continued to rise in Mugello as the MotoGP weekend entered the business section with Qualifying and the Sprint. Both sessions would see the Honda HRC Castrol team dig in and do their utmost even in the difficult circumstances on the track.
Making some improvements overnight, Joan Mir was able to be in the mix as morning practice began on Saturday. Q1 saw the 2020 MotoGP World Champion put in an impressive performance, wrestling his Honda RC213V around to finish the session in eighth place. From 18th on the grid, Mir was able to put together a consistent Sprint to pick off several of his rivals after a wide route around Turn 1. Taking 14th place at the flag, he secured top Honda honours and gained more valuable information for Sunday’s main event.
Takaaki Nakagami continued to stay right with his teammate, demonstrating his MotoGP level speed even in his new guise as a test rider. 0.050s shy of Mir in Q1, Nakagami would line up in 19th for the Sprint and race to 15th in the 11-lap Sprint. This fill-in appearance for the injured Luca Marini has given the #30 a chance to confirm several settings he has been trying with the Test Team in Motegi.
Sundays have normally seen the Honda HRC riders show more of their potential, both Mir and Nakagami in the mix for points tomorrow if this form holds true. Starting at 14:00 Local Time, the 23-lap Italian Grand Prix should have the local crowd on their feet once again.
