LCR’s Johan Zarco was celebrating Honda’s first victory at Le Mans since 2023, while factory rider Joan Mir was undergoing treatment for fractures due to pain in his right hand and neck.
Mir was injured when he was caught up in the first chicane entanglement between Enea Bastianini and Francesco Bagnaia.
However, the worsening weather revived beautifully in Zarco’s hands for the emotional home victory, but Mir was not only injured, but left with the seventh non-score of the season.
“Victory is always important,” Mir said of Zarco’s achievements at Silverstone on Thursday.
“Zarco did a very good job of maximizing the points and not making mistakes… he bet everything on ‘red’! ”
Zarco was among a handful of riders to stay with the Wets for a restart, but Mir pitted for his drier ike on sighting laps.
So, if he wasn’t defeated, he would have had to join something like runner-up Mark Marquez to make mid-race swaps for his wet bike.
“From my point of view, I probably had the opportunity to compete for the podium, but not for victory,” Mir said.
“I always felt better in mixed conditions and while I was warming up (fastest) (fastest) I felt better on my bike.
“The truck was dry when Mark, Pecco and others were in (for the slick at the end of the sighting lap).
“Zarco went on (at WETS) and probably thought he had lost the opportunity to win the race when he was on the grid.
“But he was good because he kept on dry rain tires, but the others said, “OK, I’ll wash it off and go into the pit for the slick.”
“Zarco is smart. He used his experiences and he maximized everything he could. It was a great victory.
“To be honest, it was hard to see this in the hospital! I thought I could realistically fight him.
“But anyway, I was happy with him. I’m happy with Honda. And I hope we can have another opportunity this weekend.”
If the unpredictable Silverstone weather casts another opportunity to glow, Mir is sure his injuries won’t hinder him.
“I feel good. It took me a few more days to recover from a physical therapist. Then I broke a part of my finger.
“But this isn’t a big deal. It doesn’t require surgery. I hope I have to deal with it.”
Whatever the weather, Mir’s priorities are to score points for the first Sunday since round two in Argentina.
“For some reason, we couldn’t get any good results on Sunday,” admitted Mir. “For my mistakes, bad luck, for a variety of reasons.
“Even in the rider rankings, we don’t think we should be there for this reason.
“We haven’t scored points, but on the other hand, we’re always fast on Saturday Friday. We’re always there.
“So for me it’s important to finish Sunday with points and stop in this bad situation.”
