The defending world champion finished the San Marino Grand Prix in sixth position after being penalized with a place for exceeding the limits of the track on the last lap. Fabio Quartararo finished second and extended his lead over the Balearic in the standings to 67 points , when 100 remain at stake. The Suzuki rider assumes that the championship has already slipped away from him.
Mir says he has driven better in 2021, but failing to win the title is “difficult to understand” as the Hamamatsu-based brand has done very little to develop its GSX-RR since 2020. Despite this, the #36 sees the last few races as an opportunity to prepare for the 2022 season.
“I’m a bit angry because I know my potential this year and I’m angry because I’m driving better, I’m making fewer mistakes, I’m a better driver and I’m not going to get the championship,” says Mir .
“It’s hard to understand. But, what I also have to say is that it makes me happy that Suzuki is going in the same direction. We all see what is happening and I think they are pushing to the maximum.”
“We can think of the next few races as a pre-season, like every race is an opportunity to give some feedback and make some improvements to the bike that we sure need. I think it’s the smartest way.”
“Everything changes a little bit. If now I have the opportunity to win some race and do some maneuver at the end of a race and all these things, I don’t mind doing a zero. But I have to have the opportunity to win that race.
(Before reading on, click on the link or on the image to see all the photos of the 2021 San Marino GP MotoGP race)
Mir has already spoken with Suzuki so that they get down to work and can fight for the title in 2022 from the first race, and he assures that he has already noticed a reaction from the team.
“There was a point in the season when we talked about this and they immediately realized it, I immediately noticed a reaction,” he says.
“Of course you always, as a driver, try to push to get more and more, but I can’t complain about the work they are doing now, because I think they are doing everything to bring good things.”
“Okay, I’m disappointed because if we had started differently in the first race, now I’m sure we would be in a different situation.”
“But this is a team, we learn from our mistakes and now I’m sure we’re going in the same direction. This is what I made sure of a couple of months ago and now I know they’re working hard.”
