The 2022 MotoGP season hasn’t been kind to Joan Mir. The 2020 MotoGP Champion has yet to stand atop the podium this year. Despite failing to finish in the top three places, Mir remained consistent in the first five races, capturing four top-six finishes. That all changed after the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix, though.
When Suzuki informed its Factory team that the firm planned to pull out of the Grand Prix series following the 2022 season, Mir’s season fell off a cliff. That sucker punch has stayed with him, however, and the Suzuki rider has crashed out of five of the last seven rounds. He did match his season’s best results with a fourth place in the Catalan Grand Prix, but his latest outing could potentially sideline him for upcoming races.
On Sunday, August 21, 2022, number 36 lined up eighth on the grid at Austria’s Red Bull Ring Circuit. The former champ showed steady pace throughout the weekend, recording a P3 finish in the race weekend’s FP3 practice session. When the starting lights went out, Mir gained one position before his hard work unraveled at the very first corner.
Trailing defending champion Fabio Quartararo and Aprilia rider Maverick Vinales, Mir’s GSX-RR momentarily lost rear grip before regaining traction, catapulting the rider head over heels into the air. After a violent tumble, Mir settled in the gravel trap, immediately clutching at his right ankle. In the initial check-up at the circuit medical center, Mir received a fractured ankle diagnosis, but he’s grateful his injuries weren’t more severe.
“It could have been worse, so I feel relatively lucky, because from the outside it's pretty scary,” Mir conceded. “The first diagnosis shows bone fragments and fractures in my ankle. Tomorrow I will undergo further examinations, including an MRI to see if a ligament has not been affected.”
We won’t know Mir's fitness status for the 2022 San Marino Grand Prix on September 4, 2022, until the MRI results become available. Hopefully, the Suzuki rider returns to the paddock—and to championship form—sooner than later.
