It was a crestfallen Joan Mir who was taking stock of his qualifications for a French Grand Prix which he will approach from a distant 14th place. This while he is second in the championship, eight points behind poleman in Sarthe, Fabio Quartararo. Of course, he has already shown that with his Suzuki he can work miracles, but that is perhaps a little too much to ask of him. This is also his opinion, so much so that he warns his fans...
At a time when Joan mir must be offensive and as a permanent danger in the title race, he regrets this Saturday at Grand Prix of France his worst qualification of the season… 14th, he will watch from afar as he rushes fabio quartararo, his rival for the world title. “ Honestly, I don't see myself on the podium on Sunday » blurted out the official without preliminaries Suzuki. " I don't have the same sensations as usual, I generally struggle in qualifying but I have a good pace, this time not ».
« I didn't worry about the other drivers, I focused on myself. In the first row, there are also Petrucci and Miller, so it won't be easy for Fabio Quartararo to escape but, like I said, I just want to get my feeling back on the bike » analyzes the Spaniard.
« This Saturday was a very difficult day for me, I struggled so much he continued. " We have made improvements but they are not enough yet, there is room but I will really have to attack if I want to recover. I will need to improve my confidence ».
The problem is known: the difficulty in getting the front tire up to temperature: “ we are working on that” assures Joan Mir. “I lose a lot in the first sector of the track, about half a second, because when I get to the first left turn I can't stop the bike, I can't enter quickly. In the other parts, it's fast, and that's positive, but if I want to have a good race tomorrow, I will have to recover at least two or three tenths at that time ».
“We are not competitive”
Note that the problem is general at Suzuki, since alex rins is even further: 16th : " I don't want to blame the bike or the tires, ultimately it's the whole thing that counts and for the moment it is not working in these conditions, we are not competitive and we have to work » Joan said. “The cold is a problem, these are limiting conditions for racing, we saw a lot of falls, even in the other classes. It's not easy to find confidence when you fall and don't understand why ».
« I think I would have had the potential to fight for the first two places, but it's not easy to be in Q1 and pushing when you're trying something different. With the second tire I was improving, but I got the yellow flag and had to stop ". The question is whether the pressure is also working against the Spaniard now that he is fighting for the title… “ This has nothing to do with what is happening. On the contrary, I like pressure and it makes me give the best of myself. The problem is elsewhere ».
MotoGP Le Mans France J3: classification
