Honda MotoGP rider Joan Mir says it was a scare to have encountered a still-in-motion rider-less Ducati in the middle of the track during practice at the Circuit of the Americas.
Pramac Ducati’s Johann Zarco had gone down while running not far at all up the road from Mir, meaning there was no time at all for him to be warned by yellow flags.
And Zarco’s crash came in such a position that Mir wasn’t able to see it happen.
A very close call between @JohannZarco1 and @JoanMirOfficial on their last flying laps! 😮
Great reactions from Joan! 👏#AmericasGP 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/woy51NYI43
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) April 14, 2023
“This rear new tyre was pushing too much the front,” said Zarco of his crash.
“I tried to do another [fast] lap because it was the last lap. I really closed the front in Turn 5, and maximum leaning, then my bike slid till Turn 6.”
Both corners are part of the fast esses section in the first sector of the track, and replays make it clear Mir only saw the downed Desmosedici when he tipped in for the right-hander.
He immediately picked up the bike, dodging the Ducati – which was still rotating on the ground, having not come to a complete stop. But though contact was avoided, Mir was unfortunate in that he could only go to the outside off the track, where he encountered a kerb belonging to a different track layout – this ultimately lifting his rear tyre into the air and seemingly causing him to fall.
“That was scary,” he recalled.
“Because, when I came into [Turn] 6, the bike of Zarco was still moving. I was in Turn 5 when I saw that one bike was doing like that [spinning]. And I just went completely out of the track, with the speed, and I didn’t expect it.
“Zarco probably was one second in front of me. So, on that section it’s impossible to see one second in front.”
Mir did acknowledge it was still much better to have that kind of accident in practice.
“In this track, if you crash on the S [section], you hit another rider in the race.”
The Honda newcomer said he could’ve potentially improved his laptime on that attempt and found his way into an automatic Q2 spot – but admitted that some of his rivals were stymied by the yellow flags brought out by the incident.
The incident at least didn’t add to Mir’s fitness concerns. The Spaniard is already “physically not in my best moment”, still to recover fully from the crash that sidelined him from the Sunday race in Argentina.
“Also this track is a challenge for everyone, and I’m not at 100%,” said Mir, who was 12th in FP2.
When it was then pointed out to him that he had 30 racing laps of COTA ahead of him – 10 in the sprint and 20 in the main race – he quipped: “Yeah, yeah. So thank you for [reminding]…”
