Yesterday, Joan Mir was not very visible in Portugal. While he returned to Qatar rather well – not to mention miracles – he was among the last drivers, only a few steps ahead of his teammate Luca Marini. Too bad, because obviously progress seems close at Honda, as other drivers under contract with the winged firm have been able to point out. In the meantime, the 2020 world champion is eating his black bread and hoping for an improvement today.
The dynamic is broken. While he returned rather well to Lusail, close to 10th place on Sunday, Joan Mir was unable to convert this positive energy into a correct result yesterday during Practice. « We are working hard and I hope that tomorrow, with better track conditions, we can do more. Honestly, I was expecting more from day one and we're having more trouble than I thought.." he confided as he got off his machine.
Half an hour of Practice left and the cattle for the top ten is about to heat up. @JoanMirOfficial heads out for his third run. 0.7s away from the top ten #PortugueseGP 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/ZWnWm5spiL
- Repsol Honda Team (@HRC_MotoGP) March 22, 2024
He has a theory, although the performance deficit is quite difficult to express when it is so significant. « When the track grip is low, I think we lose a little more than our rivals, so the goal is to reduce that gap tomorrow : we will progress as the grip improves. We continue to work and I am sure that improvements will come. » he added, full of hope.
Photo: Honda Repsol
The difficult times are not yet over at Honda, and this Friday proves it again. Joan Mir, who had scored an 11th position here last year for his first outing with the team, can he even match this result, or do better? Difficult to say as it stands.
And you, do you think that the Spaniard is capable of such a turnaround? Tell us in the comments!
MotoGP Practice result at the 2024 Portuguese Grand Prix:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
Cover photo: Honda Repsol
