Joan Mir, at 23, is the reigning World Champion, a crown acquired on regularity, determination, and the intelligence to exploit a Suzuki which excels in nothing but which is good everywhere. A formidable recipe in a 2020 season concentrated in 14 races in Europe, spread from July to November where you could not make mistakes, nor get injured and have strong nerves. Already World Champion, it was in 2017 in Moto3, Joan Mir did the right thing and deserves his crown. But 2021 will be unprecedented for the Mallorcan. Indeed, it will be the first time that he will have to defend his number one status...
A number one of which he will tell us 12 February whether he will actually put it, or not, in place of his 36 fetish on his Suzuki. But even if he renounced this privilege, he would still remain the target of all his other colleagues in the MotoGP. A position of which he is fully aware. He says thus: “ I am the man to beat ". A pressure that he manages by immediately adding: “ but I'm not the favorite ».
But then who will be? Joan mir responds on Moto.it : " when Marc Marquez returns he will be the favorite. If he is 100% then we will have to face him ". And otherwise ? “ So I don't see a clear favorite », declares the world champion. “ It's probably me then as the reigning champion, but when Marc is there, it's him ».
Certainly, but this return is still far from being achieved. If he had to wait, who would be the most formidable adversary for Joan mir ? The latter will not look for it very far…” Alex Rins was strong and competitive. It will be again in 2021, I'm sure ". Especially since he will have exactly the same bike as him. But the basic recipe will always be the same: “ for each driver, it’s about not making mistakes. It's part of the job ". And justly, Marc Marquez as alex rins made some by falling and getting injured in 2020.
Joan Mir assesses her room for improvement
That being said, you can't always wait for your opponents to make mistakes. You also have to put your effort into it, and therefore progress in mastering your art. For 2021, Joan mir knows that he will have to further raise his level of er in certain areas: “ I have to show more. I must be intelligent, always perform well and want to improve ", says Mir. For him, this means concretely: “ I want to improve my qualifications and win more races. I just want to improve, in all areas ».
What is certain, however, is that he will still be able to count on his Suzuki GSX-RR. Due to the technical freeze decided until 2022, it will keep all its qualities in the face of opposition with reduced room for maneuver. The brand objectives have been clearly formulated by the project manager Shinichi Sahara and they seem ambitious. The Japanese would like what we call the “triple crown”, namely the driver, team and constructor championship.
He would also like to see his drivers ranked 1st and 2nd in the championship. Enough to exorcise the fears born from the departure of Davide Brivio : " I'm glad to hear something like that. This shows that the factory is working hard to succeed and meet the requirements. Last year we didn't have the most powerful engine, but we didn't have the weakest either. But we had a good balance and a good package " finished Mir.
