Mir's Jerez MotoGP hopes in tatters due to heavy penalty
Honda rider Joan Mir has been issued a severe, race-changing penalty for an infringement during MotoGP practice at the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez.
Mir went down at Turn 2 10 minutes into the 30-minute practice session - which immediately precedes qualifying - and drew the ire of the MotoGP stewards by riding the bike back to the pits.
With the right side of his fairing significantly damaged in the fall, bike internals exposed, Mir was helped with a push out of the gravel and proceded to shed debris around the track as the damaged fairing disintegrated further and further.
During that sequence, he was issued a black-and-orange flag - which in car racing tends to demand a return to the pits, but in MotoGP means the rider must immediately leave the track.
As he had not done that, Mir will serve a double long-lap penalty in Sunday's race - so will take twice to the penalty loop at the final corner.
With overtaking complicated at Jerez and not the Honda bike's strong suit anyway, Mir's Spanish Grand Prix is already substantially, perhaps irrepairably compromised - as the double penalty will negate any early gains he could make from 14th on the grid.
Both Mir and team-mate Luca Marini (15th on the grid) had been optimistic about their race pace, but both face uphill tasks now - more so in Mir's case - while stablemate Johann Zarco made the most of the wet track in qualifying to grab a front-row start.
Mir has probably been the fastest Honda rider in conventional conditions so far this year - but only has a palty three points to his name, with four crash DNFs in the last four races.
