Joan Mir takes an excellent sixth in Jerez

The 2016 Grand Prix of Spain was a difficult and gruelling race for the Leopard Racing team. In the Moto3 class all the riders lined up on the grid having taken great encouragement from Warm Up, which was postponed by over half an hour due to heavy morning fog.

At 11 o’clock the lights went out for round four of the 2016 season, but it would be a cold shower for two of the three Leopard Racing riders. Fabio Quartararo, who was fourth in the 20 minutes Warm Up session, came into contact with the Mahindra of Jorge Martin and fell. The 17 year old from Nice was forced to abandon the race. It was an equally unlucky race for Andrea Locatelli starting in 27th. The young Italian made a strong start to the race, but was brought down at Turn 6 by two of his rivals as they came into contact.

The hopes of Leopard Racing then rested on the shoulders of Joan Mir, the rookie having started sixth on the grid after Qualifying in seventh. An expert of the Jerez circuit, he was involved in a large group of seven rider vying for fifth. The 18 year old pushed the gritted teeth for the entire race, attacking at every turn and attempting to move ahead as often as he could.

Mir would eventually cross the line in sixth place, 0.2s back on experienced campaigner Jakub Kornfeil and taking home ten more championship points. With these ten points, Mir occupies 13th in the standings. The next event will take place in two weeks at the legendary Le Mans circuit where Locatelli and home hero Quartararo will be out for redemption again.

#36 Joan MIR – 6th:
“It was a very fun race with a close battle with a lot of guys. From the very first lap I had some grip issues in the rear, not a great feeling when I opened the throttle. I tried to give it my best, halfway through the race I had the same pace as the leaders. I fought till the end with Fenati, Kornfeil and Bastianini. Hopefully we can take another step in Le Mans.”

Source: Leopard Racing