WorldSBK: Ryo Mizuno to replace Granado at Misano

Ryo Mizuno will make his WorldSBK debut with the MIE Honda Team at Misano.

Ryo Mizuno will make his WorldSBK debut at Misano and will replace the injured Eric Granado. Mizuno will join Hafizh Syahrin at the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team for the fifth round of the championship.

At Catalunya, in race 1, Eric Granado crashed and is still unfit to race at Misano due to a head injury and concussion. Hafizh Syahrin will also have to pass a medical test to be passed fit to race at Misano.

Due to Granado and Syahrin’s injuries, they were not fit to ride at the Misano WorldSBK testing. This meant that WorldSSP rider Tarran Mackenzie stepped in and rode as the sole MIE rider at the test. 

The PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team is currently in 11^th position in the Team Standings after four rounds. The highest rider is Hafizh Syahrin, who is currently 19^th in the Rider Standings.

In 2022, Ryo Mizuno raced in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship, racing for the Honda Racing UK team. Mizuno finished the season in 23^rd in the standings, with 18 championship points. The highlight of his season came at Thruxton, where the Japanese rider finished in 12th place.

Ryo Mizuno has also had experience in the Grand Prix paddock, making one-off appearances in Moto3 and Moto2. Both wildcard rounds were at the Japanese Grand Prix with a best result of 22^nd. Mizuno will be the only Japanese rider on the grid and will become the first Japanese rider since Kohta Nozane. 

Explaining his injuries, Granado said: “I’ve been slowly regaining my strength in the weeks since my crash and feel good actually, physically and mentally. As a rider, I would like to race and feel ready, but the doctors have said I can’t compete at Misano.

“The brain swelling I suffered was quite serious, and I had to spend a week in hospital, after which the doctors would only let me walk, no other kind of training. It seems that there’s still some slight swelling now, and so it would be unwise to race. 

“The important thing is that I feel good in myself, so I’ll focus on gradually getting back into my training in order to be ready for the Donington round.”

Image credit: WorldSBK.com