Saturday started off looking promising for Joan Mir, as the Honda rider gave fans something to cheer about by topping the timesheets in final practice.
But things quickly unraveled once qualifying began. The 2020 world champion couldn’t make it out of Q1 and ended up 17th on the grid. To make matters worse, he was later handed a three-place grid penalty for “riding slowly and disturbing another rider” at Turn 5 during Q1.
The rider affected was none other than reigning champion Jorge Martin of Aprilia, who finished right behind Mir in 18th. Since this was Mir’s first offence, the punishment was limited to a grid drop, meaning he’ll now start 20th in Sunday’s grand prix.
Honda did have at least some good news though, with Johann Zarco qualifying best of the camp in seventh, while Mir’s teammate Luca Marini will start from tenth.
The Catalan GP Sprint kicks off this afternoon at 3pm local time.
