Let's talk MotoGP: Can Joan Mir finally get back to his best?

What a surprise! At Motegi, Joan Mir shone all three days, with magnificent performances in both qualifying and races. It's been a long time since he's celebrated a MotoGP podium—1421 days to be precise, since the 2021 Algarve Grand Prix. What do you think? Is this an important performance for the Spaniard? How far can he go?

 

Should we get excited about Mir?

 

Honda's trajectory this season is quite impressive, it must be said. – even more so than Yamaha. Since Austria, the two official riders of the winged company have been working miracles on the RC213V, while Johann Zarco had to settle for the top 10 at Motegi. Of course, the Japanese brands are greatly helped by the regulations, which have rarely been so advantageous to them. But they are taking this mission in stride, and, as Grand Prix fans, seeing Honda back in front is definitely good news.

 

 

Joan Mir was very good this weekend, and in my opinion, it was no coincidence. Of course, Motegi can sometimes showcase unexpected riders without much explanation. And then, it's a circuit owned by Honda, which knows every nook and cranny of this unique track in more ways than one. We know all that, and yet, we still had to put up with Marc Marquez, an excellent Pecco Bagnaia, an Alex Marquez who can always rise to the level of the best, etc. Mir's podium finish is therefore not a happy coincidence, but it doesn't really give us the right to get excited either.

Indeed, these days, over a season, there are around ten different men on the box. We are already at twelve with five races to go; This is a constant that has been frequently verified since the introduction of the single ECU in 2016.. If everyone who made a podium managed to get back on track, there wouldn't be just one or two title contenders each year. And that has nothing to do with the nature of the race: Mir was very good, that's not the point, and that doesn't mean he won't repeat it later. Simply, you have to understand that a single podium after so many disappointments is not enough reason to hope to see him frequently occupy these positions. The example that comes to mind is none other than that of Marco Bezzecchi, with his top 3 finish at Jerez last year. We could imagine that with the 2023 season he had produced, he would get back on track. And in the end, he suffered the rest of the year.

 

 

At its best

 

Another point that I wanted to address, and which seems quite important to me. We cannot know the ceiling of Honda, which continues to progress and which will be even more advantaged in 2026 than in 2025 by the regulation. We know that it is a brand that is capable of dominating the world of Grand Prix, with a legendary heritage. On the other hand, and unfortunately, if I dare say, I believe that what we saw at Motegi is the ceiling of Joan Mir. In his career, at least since his arrival at the beginning of 2019 in MotoGP, he has never been better than what he proved this weekend.

First, in 2020, the year of his world title. It remains, statistically speaking, the worst season ever achieved by a world champion. At the time, I remained completely unmoved by his driving, and I also found his teammate Alex Rins to be stronger. Personally, I appreciated his 2021 season more, which was too underrated. There, we saw the best Joan Mir, even more impactful than in 2020, with real consistency in performance.. He had secured a third place in the championship, which is not so bad for a rather weak defending champion, because he had ridden intelligently. At Motegi, Mir was at that level, and you will have understood that I have difficulty imagining him doing better four years later, on a bike a priori inferior to the Suzuki GSX-RR.

 

 

So, it's very strong; solid, even, with good racing science and remarkable tire management. But going beyond that seems very complicated to me, especially against monsters like Bagnaia, Marquez, Bezzecchi and their ilk., who, for their part, master more techniques on the handlebars. I'm thinking, for example, of overtaking ability, which has never been Mir's strong point. Also coming to mind is speed over a lap, certainly his biggest weakness for a long time. Moreover, his second place on the grid was actually his best qualifying result since he arrived in the premier class. He is still the only 500cc/MotoGP world champion without a pole in the most prestigious of classes.

In that sense, I'm convinced that Marini is a more complete driver than Mir, intrinsically. Many people point to the fact that the Spaniard outperforms his teammate in terms of speed, but, apart from Motegi, that simply hasn't been the case this season, in qualifying or in the race. Moreover, for direct comparison, Marini has often performed well in Q2; I am thinking in particular of this pole position acquired in Qatar in 2023 against Pecco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin, two of the biggest clients in history on one tour.

 

Conclusion

 

Strangely, I was quite touched by Mir's podium, while he is a pilot who has never moved me too much. He crossed an arid desert for all these years, and, as a result, many observers stopped believing in him – including your humble servantNow he has to confirm, and I hope he can return to his best level over a longer period, without falling.

What are your thoughts on his podium finish in Japan? Do you think he can do better? Tell me in the comments!

As a reminder, this article only reflects the thoughts of its author, and not of the entire editorial team.

 

 

Cover photo: MotoGP