England,7th August 2023 A chance for both Repsol Honda Team riders to work on improving their feeling in variable conditions as they completed the 10-lap Sprint without incident.

Overnight rain continued through Saturday for a mostly wet day at the British GP. With conditions constantly changing as the rain eased and returned heavier, picking the correct moments to push for fast laps was crucial. The morning session saw both Repsol Honda Team riders spend the majority of their time on track, working to learn and understand the 5.9-kilometer-long circuit in the wet.

With data gathered, it was time for Qualifying and conditions remained similarly tricky. Marc Marquez made steady improvements as he challenged for one of the top two spots in Q1. Ultimately ending in fourth and half a second from the top two, the eight-time World Champion would line up in 14th for the Sprint. Gaining some positions early in the race, the Sprint in Silverstone would become a race of learning for Marquez as he rode with the other Honda riders to compare and contrast. Crossing the line in 18th, the #93 avoided any major incidents as he prepares for Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Starting 19th on his return to MotoGP action, Joan Mir focused himself on finding his feeling again and continuing to build his confidence after his extended break. Adjusting to the conditions as the track dried over the course of the 10-lap Sprint race, Mir was able to end in 17th spot – just in front of his Repsol Honda Team teammate Marc Marquez. The #36 did enjoy his first laps back riding the Honda RC213V in anger, finding himself smiling inside his helmet during the opening laps.

A dry start to the British Grand Prix is currently predicted for Sunday at 13:00 Local Time, but eyes will once again look toward the sky before the lights go out.

Joan Mir (17th)

“It was a very wet day today, that is certain! It stopped raining just before the Sprint and the track was drying out as the race went on – it was a race of two very different parts. It’s difficult in these conditions to manage the grip and it maybe highlighted some of our weaker points more. I didn’t feel super comfortable during the race but it was important to do the laps and keep improving our feeling. It looks like it will be a dry race tomorrow, so hopefully we can improve then. But it was good to be back racing, I was smiling in the first laps.”

Marc Marquez (18th)

“A complicated day with the rain and we just didn’t have the feeling with the bike. We used the Sprint to try and understand many things, when I saw that I was out of the points I looked to ride with the other Hondas in order to watch and learn. We finished the race, learned some more things and did not fall. Let’s see what happens tomorrow because it looks like the conditions will be very different. I want to say congratulations to my brother Alex as well, he had a great race and he is in a good moment.”

British GP – Sprint Race – Qualifying Results