Dixon Steps In for Ailing Mir as Honda Calls Up Superbike Star for MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix

Honda has turned to its Superbike ranks to fill a gap on its factory MotoGP team, confirming on Thursday that Jake Dixon will replace Joan Mir at this weekend's Qatar Grand Prix at Lusail. Mir, the 2020 world champion, tried to return from illness at last weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang but was forced to withdraw from the race, and he will continue his recovery at home instead of travelling to Qatar. Dixon, who races Honda's CBR1000RR-R in the Superbike World Championship, will line up alongside Luca Marini under the lights at Lusail, the only night race on the MotoGP calendar. It will be the Briton's third MotoGP weekend and his first appearance in the Grand Prix paddock since leaving Moto2 at the end of 2025, having spent this season in WorldSBK, where injury disrupted his campaign before a run of five top-ten finishes in the second half of the year. The Qatar round is the penultimate event of the 2026 season, and Dixon's call-up gives him a rare chance to show what he can do on factory premier-class machinery. Mir, meanwhile, faces a longer wait: the health problems that kept him out of four Grands Prix after Misano have still not fully cleared, and Honda has given no date for his return.