Twelfth in the MotoGP World Championship in 2019, Joan mir ranked second among rookies with 92 points behind fabio quartararo (192), in front Francis Bagnaia (54) and Miguel Oliveira (33). Ranked at best fifth during qualifying in Assen, the Spanish hope obtained sixth place in Catalonia as his best race results, as well as seventh in Germany, Thailand and Valencia.
He finished 12 times out of 19 in the points, which is all the more commendable since he missed the Austrian and British GPs due to a pulmonary contusion that occurred in Brno during pre-GP testing.
Moto3 World Champion in 2017, Mir competed in 37 Grands Prix in this category, winning 11, before racing 18 times in Moto2, with his best result being two second places in Germany and Australia, as well as finishing third twice. from the podium in France and Italy in 2018.
All this led him to Suzuki, with the brilliance that we know. He has just signed for 2021 and 2022 with Suzuki, where he will find his technical team, including his French mechanic Jacques Roca. The Spanish driver never had any doubts about his future. “I already knew about the renewal of my contract for a few months. My manager had another offer, but I haven't spoken with another builder. Changing bikes would have meant spending another year to adapt and I didn't want to waste that time “, explained Mir during a virtual Suzuki press conference.
“I think you can't finish your work in just two yearsshe explained. Last season I made my debut in MotoGP, I needed to gain experience and in this one I need to start making results. In the end, I would have only had one year, which is not enough to show my potential. »
“It is clear that Álex was number 1 last year, because I was a beginner ", said Joan, “Now I don’t think it’s serious. We both want to take Suzuki to the top positions, repeat what Kevin Schwantz did. I hope to stay with Rins, because on this bike we can push each other and grow. »
Like her teammate, Joan disagrees with those who say the GSX-RR is the easiest bike.
“How can you tell from the outside without having tried other bikes? The Suzuki has a similar character to the Yamaha, but not the same. He is more aggressive. All the rookies had a bit of difficulty adapting, because the GSX-RR has to be driven in a particular way. I wouldn't say it's an easy bike, others seem more natural to me for a rider. »
The development freeze doesn't worry Mir at all.
“I would say that for us it is good news » he said, " because we have a good base. In the Sepang and Losail tests, the new bike performed well. I think this halt in development might be a disadvantage for others, but it's hard to say. »
Currently, Joan is mostly trying to stay fit and keep her motivation high.
“Usually, an athlete knows what he will do, knows his schedule, when he will be 100%, but we do not yet know the date of the first race. It's hard to find the motivation to train, I try to have a routine, keep myself busy and not have too much time to think. »
“Here in Andorra, at the moment we can only use the trials bike a few days a week” he explained. " Good training and, after two months without riding a motorcycle, you have to start calmly so as not to risk injury. I hope that in the next few weeks we will have the opportunity to go to Spain to train in motocross or minimoto. In this sense, the Italians have the advantage because they can already do it. »
Above, with Jacques Roca.
Photos © Suzuki
