Let's talk MotoGP: Here's who plays the biggest in 2024

The 2024 season starts today! Until the first Grand Prix of the Season, Let's talk MotoGP will try to detail as best as possible the expectations surrounding all drivers, those who play big, or not. This will be accompanied by a short prediction, and of course, you are invited to give yours in comments. Yesterday, we continued this series with Maverick Vinales, in an article that you can find by clicking here.

 

A career at stake

 

Last year, I named Alex Marquez as the driver who played the hardest on the entire grid MotoGP. For 2024, I choose Joan Mir, but the seriousness of the situation has absolutely nothing to do with it. If little brother Marquez played one of the most “desired” comebacks, the 2020 world champion must save his career, just that.

Absolutely disastrous last year, he performed one of the worst exercises for an official driver in the history of our sport. This season, at Honda Repsol, he must do better, it is essential. Already, for him. Name me teams that would dream of having such a rider if he doesn't do much better, given what's happening in Moto2. As a reminder, Fabio Di Giannantonio was on the verge of exit before he woke up at the end of 2023, but nevertheless, he remained infinitely better than Mir. His world title acquired under special conditions dates back four years ago, he can no longer count on that to sell himself.

 

 

And it is this coming year which will determine whether his coronation was due solely to a fortunate combination of circumstances, or to his talent. Joan Mir plays his legacy, the way he will be remembered. For his legend, he must save himself, to forget a year 2023 bordering on the unforgivable for a driver of his rank, promised a bright future in Moto3.

The pressure is double because he plays in a special team, with a glorious history, but also tinged with a cruel lack of ambition for years. A lack of convincing results, too. Thereby, he carries the weight of Honda on his shoulders, which, at this stage, represents more of a burden than an object of motivation – as it can be for Luca Marini for example.

Joan can count the days, because he now faces the biggest challenge of his career.

 

The prognosis

 

Let's move on to the prediction, which, once again, is not intended to assign a precise place to a driver, but rather to try to predict a dynamic. I'm relatively pessimistic about Joan Mir, I have to admit. For some time now, I have been questioning his place on the grid at the highest level. Yes, he's a world champion – in fact, but it's not his track record that puts the leather on there, right away.

 

 

Firstly, I imagine Luca Marini better in his first season at Honda. It must be said that I was quite convinced by the Italian in 2023 despite the lack of victories. The 213 Honda RC2024V is full of promise, but we are now used to the refrain. I advise you, like every year, to wait for the first Grand Prix to get an idea. Even the tests which precede the start of the season a few days are moderately reliable – last year, Raul Fernandez excelled there. His ceiling has never been very high, even in 2020. So, riding an uncertain machine, I don't see him excelling, especially so quickly after the failure of 2023.

However, I don't see how it could be worse than last year. (22nd with 26 points). Based on this observation, I predict a slightly higher total but unfortunately, no miracle. This pilot, as talented as he is, never showed us that he was capable of making big breakthroughs, of revealing himself, of making an impression. And now he must do all of this, at the same time if possible, while he is up against the wall.

To summarize, I think he will continue to skim the second part of the rankings, but probably not as low as last year – barring injuries, of course. Nothing transcendent, but just enough to stay at the highest level; that's all I wish for him.

The word is yours; what do you think will happen to Joan Mir in 2024? Tell me in the comments!

 

 

Cover photo: Michelin Motorsport