JOAN MIR SUFFERS LAP-ONE CRASH AT SILVERSTONE AS DNFS MOUNT IN 2026

Joan Mir’s 2026 season at Honda HRC has continued to be defined by retirements, and the British Grand Prix at Silverstone added another dramatic chapter. Mir failed to finish for the eighth time in 12 MotoGP races, with his crash occurring on lap one. Because it happened so early, he never had the chance to settle into the race and show what he could do over full distance.

The incident also affected another rider: Alex Rins was caught up when he went down after hitting Mir’s fallen Honda. Mir described the moment as unusual and difficult to make sense of, saying he had contact twice. “I don’t know,” Mir said when asked what caused the crash. “I didn’t see the TV, the [replay]. It was strange, very strange. I feel a hit from the back and then another one in the front, and then I spin and I crash.”

When pressed on responsibility, Mir insisted there was no blame to assign. “Anyway, I don't blame anyone because I think it was the situation with a bit of chaos at the beginning.” He also linked his approach to the early stages of the race, explaining that he was trying to manage the tyres and keep things under control. “I was trying to keep a bit of calm because that medium tyre, [...] we have to be a bit careful, especially in the first two laps.”

Mir also framed the outcome as bad luck, even considering what might have happened if he had stayed upright. “It was a bad luck, honestly.” He added that, based on what he had seen with the tyre, he expected the race to be challenging. “From what I see also with this tyre, I think, in terms of performance, it's not very good.” Mir suggested that his prospects may have been better in the Sprint, where he felt he could have defended more, but that the longer race distance would likely have been harder. “Yesterday I think that I could defend more in the Sprint, but this race was probably going to be hard for us.”

With the Silverstone DNF, Mir sits 18th in the riders’ standings. He has finished only four races so far, and just one of those results—a fifth place in Czechia—has placed him inside the top 10.