Mir “ready for Qatar” despite Mandalika MotoGP test misfortunes

The 2020 world champion was forced to test on Saturday with a depleted technical crew after two members of his team tested positive for COVID-19 in Indonesia.

His running on Saturday was limited to 47 laps as a result of electronics problems and a crash.

Mir was then forced to miss the final day of running on Sunday after developing food poisoning, with the Suzuki rider ending the test 12th on the combined times.

Having only had four days of running this pre-season ahead of the 2022 campaign starting on 6 March, Mir says he still expects to be ready despite his troubles in Indonesia.

“This morning when I woke up, I felt something strange in my stomach, like everything was moving,” Mir said on Sunday.

“After having some breakfast I went to the track, but once I was there, in the office I started to feel much worse and I started to throw up.

“Then the doctor came to my office to try to help me but at the end I had to go back to the hotel because I was completely exhausted.

“My physical condition has stopped me today, I had no power to ride the bike and this also conditioned our plan.

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“I felt very bad today but these things happen and in the end I have some good conclusions from the first and second day.

“I think we will arrive quite ready for the first race in Qatar despite all the inconveniences we found during the last two days here in Mandalika.”

Alex Rins, Team Suzuki MotoGP

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Team-mate Alex Rins was the sole Suzuki on track on Sunday at the Mandalika test and was seventh on the combined times, 0.417 seconds off the pace.

One key area of weakness for Suzuki last year was its qualifying form, and Rins is unsure if that has been improved with the 2022 GSX-RR.

“I don’t know if we improved in our qualifying lap,” the Spaniard said.

“I tried to make a [race] simulation here this morning, we finished fifth at 0.4s from the first.

“It’s still far away, but overall I’m happy because the bike is a little bit faster.

“And the thing that impresses me more during these tests is the engine.

“It’s not easy to put more horsepower on the engine and it has the same answer on the engine.

“It takes time to make a good first touch of the throttle. But sincerely in Jerez, Malaysia, here the engine was quite good.”