Suzuki has confirmed that Joan Mir will miss the British GP in this MotoGP race weekend with reserve Sylvain Guintoli to replace him.
Mir missed the Austrian GP after his crash at Brno MotoGP test as he was diagnosed by pulmonary contusion. After few days in hospital at Brno, Mir traveled back to Spain, where he had more days in the hospital.
He was released in the week after the grand prix as he started his rehabilitation work to be ready for this weekend’s British GP race at Silverstone. However, he hasn’t attained 100% fitness yet.
As a result, Suzuki is forced to replace Mir with reserve Guintoli, who is at KymiRing in Finland for two-day MotoGP test. It is not a wildcard run for Guintoli but a proper MotoGP weekend in place on Mir.
Mir is weakened by lack of training since the accident. The decision was taken by the rider along with Suzuki and Internal Medicine team at the Dexeus University Hospital in Barcelona led by Angel Charte.
Charte said: “After the tests we have done we detected some remaining residues in the lung, and for safety reasons we think the best thing is that he does not return yet, and he first recovers to 100%.”
“Now he must recover lung capacity and strengthen his overall condition after several weeks of inactivity. To do this he can start walking, running, doing some exercises in the mountains, and some limited motorcycle riding in moderation.”
A disappointed Mir added: “In the end I am not able to be in Silverstone for the next race and it is a real pity, but that’s how things are, and the first priority has to be my health. After the accident I spent several weeks resting, first in the hospital and then at home.
“I have started to walk, but after the tests it seems that I am still not 100%, so the doctors have determined that it is better to continue with my rehabilitation. I will start doing some more training so I can get to the next race in better physical shape and not have to take too many risks.
“I would like to thank the people who are beside me and taking care of me, my Suzuki team for their concern and the thousands of fans who have encouraged me during all these days and who have shown me an enormous affection. See you soon.”
And finally, team manager Davide Brivio said: “It’s a big pity that Joan has to miss the Silverstone race as well, but we feel that it is very important for him to recover fully and get back to being 100% fit.
“After having discussed with the doctors following his checks today we took the decision together that he will miss the Grand Prix of Great Britain and instead get back on the bike next week.
“The Misano test will be a great opportunity for him to check his physical condition and get back on the bike in a calm manner so he can regain the ‘MotoGP feeling’. This test will also be a golden opportunity to prepare for the next GP, and then hopefully for the Misano race weekend we will have Joan at 100% fitness and ready to restart his season.
“For this reason, our test rider, Sylvain Guintoli, currently testing in Finland, will replace Joan and we will try to use this weekend to get very valuable information.”
