Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) has confirmed he will consider undergoing arm pump (compartment syndrome) surgery after the 2022 MotoGP™ season is complete, having significantly struggled with the issue in Sunday's race at the PETRONAS Grand Prix of Malaysia.
Having come back from an ankle injury that saw him miss four races at the Australian GP, Mir has been hoping to end his season on a high before he joins Repsol Honda Team for the 2023 campaign. His race at Phillip Island was hampered by tyre pressure issues, but the Spaniard bounced back throughout the weekend in Sepang to put himself in a good position to pick up a solid result before Valencia’s season finale.
However, arm pump struck, causing Mir to lose all strength in his right forearm. A top six result quickly turned into simply trying to bring his GSX-RR home. Eventually, Mir crossed the line in P19, 41 seconds behind race winner Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team).
The Sepang International Circuit is arguably the most demanding race on the calendar – first the humidity, then the demanding 5.5km layout featuring several heavy braking zones. Despite this, Mir didn’t see a heavy dose of arm pump coming, something he explained on Sunday afternoon after the race.
“Well, looks like I had an episode of compartment syndrome, arm pump. In the previous years, here is a track that you can have it a little bit, because it's quite demanding. But you know, not like this. I couldn't understand the [brake] pressure that I was doing and I lost all the strength in the right arm, and that's a bit what happened,” said Mir to the media.
Sepang, we missed you! This place always creates a tough race, but it was good to be back and we’re glad Alex could get a Top 5 ???????????? @MotoGP @Rins42 @JoanMirOfficial #MalaysianGP pic.twitter.com/2SFipzaDRW
— Team Suzuki Ecstar (@suzukimotogp) October 24, 2022
“It's a shame, because the team made a great job, and the bike was strong. I was able to be strong. And then during the race, I didn't feel any drop on the rear tyre, that was OK. I had a drop, but not a super drop. So for one part, I'm happy, because we showed important potential at the beginning of the race and middle, but then, these things that you can't control.
“What makes me sad is that I didn't see it coming. Because normally, we were talking with the physio, that I always complain a bit about the back or the neck, but I never complain about the arm. I want to see the doctor to avoid this happening to me again, because I can't allow this to happen to me again. It can't be a reason to finish the weekend like this.”
One race remains left for the MotoGP™ riders before 2023 begins with the one-day Valencia Test. It’ll be the first time we’ll see Mir on Honda’s RC213V alongside Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), but after that important outing, Mir thinks surgery will be a good option.
“Yes. Yes. Seriously. I think that it can be a good option. Honestly, if you put everything together, and we think about why we had this problem, we changed a front lever at the beginning of the weekend, because I suggested it. Then also, I had some stomach problems that maybe can… I don't know, hey... but can make it a bit worse, and maybe a little bit of everything is what caused a bit this big problem.
“Normally, during the season I do a lot of motocross, dirt track, I am able to train with a lot of bikes. In previous months, I was not able to train even with the motorbike. This for sure maybe create a bit the problem.”
Mir will be aiming to end his hugely successful Suzuki career on a high in Valencia, the circuit he wrapped up his premier class title at two years ago, before his new MotoGP™ voyage with Honda begins.