Mir rises above chaotic Malaysian GP Friday

Just when everything looked set, the weather played its part to produce an electrifying end to practice. Joan Mir continued his front-running efforts in fourth as other riders halted Luca Marini’s attempt to crack the top ten right at the end.

There was no waiting around at the Sepang International Circuit for Joan Mir who made his intentions clear immediately, quickly getting to grips with his Honda RC213V. Third in FP1 and fourth fastest in the crucial afternoon session, Mir was only rider to stay within the top five in both sessions. Keeping his cool even when the conditions began to change towards the end of the session, Mir demonstrated his connection with the Honda RC213V this weekend. The Honda HRC Castrol rider’s consistency bodes well for the rest of the weekend as Mir chases more points and progress in his best season to date with the factory team.

A late shower of rain in the afternoon kickstarted a flurry of activity with just over ten minutes left and plenty of Q2 places still open, Luca Marini having spent the majority of the afternoon working on his race setup. Having been a near permanent fixture well inside the top ten, Marini was determined to keep the pace he was showing. With so little time left after the rain and everyone pushing for Q2, traffic would become a factor and the #10 was forced to settle for 11th, just 0.062s shy of the top ten after taking avoiding action.

Weather forecasts remain unpredictable, the grid and Saturday’s Sprint as wide open as ever. 0.8s splitting the top 15, everything remains open and as promising as ever for all four Honda HRC riders on the grid.