Joan Mir has finally broken his silence on a wild six-week absence from MotoGP, revealing to The Race that vision problems and severe chronic fatigue forced him off the bike. The 2020 world champion has been on the long-term sick list, missing 44 days and rounds in Austria, Japan, Indonesia, and Australia after withdrawing from the San Marino GP in mid-September following adverse blood tests. That silence bred plenty of paddock speculation, but the reality was far more physical than rumors suggested: failing vision compounding into brutal, compounding exhaustion.
"I'm so happy to be back," Mir told the outlet upon his return to the paddock. "It's been a period that I simply needed to stop, because I had some vision problems that at the beginning we didn't really know what was happening." Working alongside MotoGP medical director Doctor Charte, a treatment plan and rigorous testing finally diagnosed the root cause—an old vision issue supercharged by the relentless stress of race weekends. Thankfully, weeks of rest at home and a finished treatment plan have him feeling ready to tackle the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang at full strength.
Before this forced break, it has been an absolute disaster of a campaign for the Honda racer in his final stint with the team, featuring crashes in nine out of 14 full-distance races. But understanding what his machine of a body was actually fighting gives him peace of mind about those DNFs. "Now I have a lot of answers about the things that happened," he noted, keeping the exact specifics close to his chest for the future. Whether he is truly at 100% will be put to the test when the visor goes down, though he admits how he feels now is a massive step up from before.
Meanwhile, the works Honda garage is finally back to full strength with the return of Luca Marini alongside Mir. The team had to completely withdraw from the previous event at Phillip Island when Mir's bike sat empty due to injuries plaguing previous stand-ins Taka Nakagami and Aleix Espargaro, while Marini himself was felled by a bizarre virus after just two practice laps.
Marini detailed the terrifying symptoms on Thursday at Sepang, explaining that he lost all strength and power while experiencing strange, arthritis-like issues in his hands, fingers, and feet that made even typing a phone message impossible. After pulling the plug early in Australia, yesterday marked his first day feeling okay, and he is ready to ride again. While he might not be at peak physical fitness without training, simply climbing back onto the bike at Sepang will be a welcome relief.
