Joan Mir’s disastrous start to the 2023 MotoGP World Championship season shows no sign of abating any time soon after he was forced to withdraw from this weekend’s Italian MotoGP at Mugello.
The 2020 MotoGP World Champion is struggling with an injury to his hand, which he picked up in an accident during the second round of the season in Argentina.
With Mugello’s fast, flowing layout causing it to flare up this weekend, a statement from Repsol Honda confirmed Mir would sit out the remainder of the event, leaving just Marc Marquez as its sole representative in Italy.
“Due to the high-speed and demanding nature of the Mugello Circuit, Joan Mir and the Repsol Honda Team have decided to withdraw from the remainder of the event,” the team said.
This new episode is just the latest blow for Mir, who has endured a miserable start to life within the factory Honda fold.
Snapped up by HRC following Suzuki’s abrupt exit from MotoGP, Mir has struggled to get to grips with the RC213V, finishing only three of the eight races he has started this year, while his 12 crashes this year are more than any other rider on the MotoGP grid.
His issues could give rise to considerations to swap him out for former Suzuki team-mate Alex Rins, who has been a race winner on the LCR Honda this year.
