Let's talk MotoGP: Joan Mir, enough is enough

It's time to (re)launch the Joan Mir debate, because his start to the MotoGP season has been unprecedented – not in a good way. If things continue like this, future generations will find it hard to believe he was once a premier-class World Champion. The Honda factory rider still can't stay on his wheels, and that's a problem for both him and the winged company.

 

A terrible statistic

 

If you think, watching the motorcycle Grand Prix, that Joan Mir falls all the time, know that it is not just an impressionThe two-time career world champion has crashed nine times in his last eleven Sunday races. In 2025, he finished only one event in five performances. Since he signed with Honda in 2023, it has 54% dropouts. I can't defend him anymore.

 

 

Some will say it's because he's trying, trying things on the recalcitrant RC213V. Well, maybe that was the case in 2023 when he was first discovering it, but obviously, this Honda isn't that bad anymore, as evidenced by the performances of Johann Zarco. Look at Luca Marini, who is one of my nice surprises at the start of this year.. Before, people said that the Italian was slow, but at least he finished races.

In 2025, Marini was sometimes faster than Mir, in qualifying but not only. And he, thanks to the consistency he acquired in 2024, managed to materialize his progress, something the Spaniard could not do. Marini currently sits in 12th place in the general classification, with roughly double the number of points as Mir. How can we still claim that number 36 is the better of the two?

Nine retirements in eleven races is unheard of for an official rider in the 21st century, and knowing the power of the factory teams in the past, I think it has never happened in the history of Grand Prizes motorcycles, but the issue should be addressed. As a reminder, in 2024, he didn't score a point ten times, ten!

 

Already on an ejection seat?

 

Mir has talent, that's undeniable, but I admit I don't understand his approach, his philosophyThe problem is that such actions can be forgiven when a rider is new to a bike, or the entire team takes a dive. That's why, I guess, the public has been relatively lenient with him until now. In 2023, the alien Marc Marquez wasn't a real point of comparison and we knew Honda was struggling. In 2024, he crashed badly, yes, but Marini couldn't get the bike to work either, nor could Takaaki Nakagami.

But in 2025, everything changes. Johann Zarco has already made his way onto the front row in qualifying, and into the top four at the Qatar Grand Prix following Maverick Vinales' relegation. Once again, I think we can only congratulate Luca Marini, especially since he is, quite often, the best Honda rider – This was the case in the United States but also in Jerez despite failed qualifications. ; he moved up six places on Sunday.

 

 

If the RCV continues to progress, also helped by the concessions and the different regulations that have governed the Japanese efforts since the start of the season, there is no doubt that Honda's financial strength will attract big fish. Rumors sometimes mention the signing of Pedro Acosta, sometimes that of Toprak Razgatlioglu and maybe others are concerned in the MotoGP paddock. If you had the opportunity to recruit someone, Who would you sideline? I think that as things stand, any answer other than Joan Mir would not be the result of an objective analysis, taking into account the nationality of Somkiat Chantra, of course.

Indeed, Mir is Spanish and Marini is not, but it's not certain that this plays in his favor. First, Honda can always replace him with a Spaniard looking for a real challenge, and there is no shortage of that in 2025. I just want to point out that the oil company Repsol, which was largely responsible for this preference – no non-Spaniards in the team between 2013 and 2023 – is no longer part of the game.

Honda must recruit in order to find a true, young leader who, alongside Johann Zarco at LCR, can lead the winged company to victory. Without a doubt, that will soon be the goal. Honda needs to find its Fabio Quartararo, so to speak, someone who vigorously embodies the long-term project. Mir is only 27, but unfortunately, I don't think he's the one the world's largest manufacturer should rely on if it wants to return to the top. Sad to say, but in its own way, it makes the progress of engineers statistically invisible, because its speed does not translate.

I hope I'm wrong, and I can only hope he'll rise up and prove me wrong. I'm curious to know if you share my opinion about Joan Mir. Tell me in the comments!

 

 

Cover photo: HRC