A week ago, Motorsport.com anticipated the departure of the Suzuki team from MotoGP at the end of this season. This situation did not take long to revolutionize the transfer market of the premier class, especially in a season in which most drivers have a contract that expires at the end of the year.
In a season with 24 riders on the track, one name has gained special importance in recent days: Joan Mir. The Balearic rider is contesting his fourth season in the premier class, a course in which, currently, he has a sixth place in the qualifying sheet.
His track record includes a world title and, for this and other reasons, it did not take long to link him to a factory like Honda -a box currently made up of Marc Márquez and Pol Espargaró- when the news of the departure of the Japanese box was announced. .
However, the Balearic driver assured that winning continues to be his main objective this season.
“You have to know how to get through difficult times,” Joan Mir introduced in an interview for Mundo Deportivo in Jerez . “I haven’t won all last season and nothing has happened in the six races we’ve had this year, but I’ve had good races and I’ve been fighting for positions in the World Championship.”
“I think I’m having a good performance. What could be better, yes, I agree, but it could also be worse. All my sports career I have followed the same sequence: one year as a rookie and the second to win. I have always gone to For all of them, it’s the way I have to feel motivated: fight to win, fight for good results”.
Given the circumstances and not knowing the future of Pol Espargaró, the chances of Joan Mir sharing a garage next year with the eighth world champion are becoming more and more certain. This situation does not intimidate the Spaniard, who assures that “he would dare to be Marc Márquez’s partner” without hesitation.
“I am clear that he is surely the best [driver] in history, but being a teammate of Marc [Márquez] would not intimidate me.”
For the time being, Joan Mir will continue to share the box with his compatriot Alex Rins, who, despite not having made a statement about his future, “has made a very good start to the season.”
“We are going very similar practically in all the tracks. Alex [Rins] is a very fast guy, who is now doing things well, he is being constant, he has made a very good start to the season… I know what my teammate is capable of of the team; I know him perfectly”, added Mir.
For now, the Suzuki rider will focus on giving his best this weekend at the French Grand Prix, which will take place in Le Mans in the coming days.
