The MotoGP world champion had a difficult day this Saturday in Austin , where he broke an engine on the Suzuki GSX-RR after a spectacular flash through the exhaust pipe, in addition to having to go through Q1 and run out of soft tires for a last time attack in the ultimate ranking.
“It has been a busy day. The truth is that not having taken a step forward in FP3 has complicated things for me. I couldn’t drive well like what happened to us on Friday. The improvement came in FP4, with the race tire I was faster than attacking the time with the soft rubber in the morning”, explained Joan Mir .
“So I’m happy with the race pace we’ve been able to show. I think we are quite good with the medium tire, although we have done a few laps in a row, six or seven. They have not been able to give more, so it will be unknown. Beyond the eighth lap no one knows what can happen, “said the man from Suzuki .
“But I am happy with the work at the end of the day, I was able to get through to Q2 without too many problems. In the end we lacked one more (soft) tire to be able to attack two or three tenths more than, I think, could be found. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow”, he valued.
About the flash that he starred in FP4, Mir admitted that he was a bit scared.
“It seems that it was the engine, the bike stopped suddenly and you have to understand why this has happened. The truth is that I did not expect it and I was a little scared. Also, I was at a point of acceleration and it was a bit dangerous,” he admitted.
With a bumpy track and harsh hot and humid weather conditions, it’s hard to get an idea of what kind of racing Austin will look like.
“I have to see where everyone is, but in terms of pace I’m happy. I think we have room and if I can improve a little, not much (in the Warm Up ), we will be very good. We will try to see if we can take one more step, it will be a very long race, the tires fall a lot and nobody has been able to do more than seven or eight laps, so nobody knows which tire will work”, he insisted.
“It will be an entertaining race, because it is difficult for someone to escape and not come back. The driving will be completely different at the beginning and at the end of the race”, warned Mir, who will start from the third row of the grid.
“For others starting 8th could mean starting far behind, but for me it means doing it far forward in the third row, and let’s see how far I can go”, he said half jokingly and half seriously, considering the difficulty he usually has to classify well the Saturdays.
(Click on this link or on the image to see the photos of Joan Mir at the 2021 MotoGP Americas GP)
