Like his MotoGP colleagues, the Suzuki rider is patient at home in Andorra, while waiting to have authorization to leave his home and to know the official date of the start of the season. For now, he remains confined but does not forget the challenges of 2020 and his opponents, starting with his teammate.
It's almost a month since Joan mir hasn't been on his GSX-RR, and like all the other riders he's starting to find it slow. Between two fun challenges on social networks he tries to stay in shape and even increase his exercises, but his days remain much less busy than usual despite everything.
“To be honest, it’s difficult because I really like training on a motorbike and currently it’s not possible”, he declared to Marca. “I have a gym at home and I work out there. I take the opportunity to work on my strength with adapted workouts, cardio, and I stay at home. When I'm not training I take care of my garden, there is always something to do. »
The Spaniard is obviously looking towards the start of the season, which continues to be postponed due to the coronavirus. If the Spanish Grand Prix at the beginning of May is still officially maintained, it seems more and more likely that it will be postponed in turn, a hard blow for the Suzuki team which had dominated the pre-season tests with Yamaha. So all that remains is to wait, and there is no doubt that the 2020 season will have its share of surprises in store!
“We expect something good because the tests went well”, he continued. “In theory they don't mean much [in terms of results] but they are important given the very good feelings I had. And above all I see that Suzuki has worked a lot this winter and it shows because the bike works. Physically I also feel good. It seems that with Yamaha we are slightly ahead of the others but we shouldn't rely on it too much because we only rode on two circuits and there are 19 different ones in total. Suzuki and Yamaha have always worked well at Losail and we have been fast but in reality we are all very close. »
If there are two riders who are actually close in the standings, they are the Suzuki teammates. After a year of learning in the premier category and some very good results, Mir seems to have reached a milestone during the pre-season and the fight against Álex Rins therefore looks inevitable: “We've both been in the top four or five drivers and that's because we watch each other in the standings and as soon as the other is in front of the other, we attack. It's obvious that there is rivalry, we are in the premier category. There are already some in the Spanish Championship, so imagine in MotoGP! »
However, all eyes will mainly be on Marc Márquez and Honda, certainly in difficulty this winter due to the driver's shoulder injury and the problems encountered by the team, but Mir has no illusions about their ability to bounce back: “Of course Marc remains the man to take down even if this season everything seems a little calmer or the others were a little stronger than him [during the tests]. I think he will be there, fighting at the front, from the first race. »
