Finally, and despite having said that they would not replace Joan Mir in Misano, Suzuki will line up two bikes on the starting grid for the San Marino Grand Prix. This decision comes as a result of Joan Mir being injured in the last Austrian Grand Prix , where he suffered a violent highside .
“After undergoing several radiological tests, the doctors advised me 15 days of rest and a new evaluation after that period,” explained the Spaniard, with damage to bones and ligaments. Suzuki announced shortly after that it would not be able to bring any substitutes to Misano due to availability issues in its driver roster.
However, the rule that requires an injured driver to be replaced if his absence is confirmed 10 days in advance urged the Japanese team to pull the schedule. Thus, he will compete in San Marino with two drivers: Alex Rins and Kazuki Watanabe.
Watanabe, 31, is currently a reserve for the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (SERT), with whom he finished on the podium at the last Suzuka 8 Hours. In addition, he also disputes the All Japan Road Race with the Yoshimura Suzuki RideWin, where he is third best in the general classification.
“I am delighted to have the opportunity to make the substitution at Misano, and it will be incredible to test a MotoGP on that track. I will do my best to give the team some return,” says an emotional Watanabe in the team’s statement.
For his part, Livio Suppo, Suzuki Team Manager, highlighted the Japanese’s “enough experience” in Hamamatsu, as well as his “good season” in All Japan. Although he warns: “The GSX-RR is a very different challenge.”
The truth is that the team is concerned that the Japanese substitute will not be able to achieve the cut of 105% of the time that is required of the participants to be able to take the start of Sunday’s race.
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