Portimao.- Joan Mir had starred in an impeccable weekend and, for the first time since he was in MotoGP, he had managed to classify second on the grid, taking advantage of the start to place himself first and lead the race.
Everything seemed written for the Suzuki rider to take the first victory of the year, but from very early on it was seen that he did not have the speed to fight with Fabio Quartararo. Even with the passing of the laps he could not beat Johann Zarco and in the final part of the race Jack Miller tried to overtake him fighting for third position, taking the Australian ahead of the Mallorcan.
“I am very disappointed, today I started to fight for the victory, we have seen it at the start and throughout the weekend. It is what I wanted. But when in the first lap I already started to have problems with the front of the The bike has been very difficult to manage, I haven’t been able to push a single lap in the race and that really has conditioned everything for me. I had a problem with the front end, the rubber was soft and there was a drop in performance. You have to see it well what has happened, ”explained the Suzuki dejected.
“We have decided to put the same rubber as last year and with a bike that in theory is better, the pace has been half a second slower per lap. There is something big, we must see what has happened and why that tire has not worked. It’s a shame to start with zero points given how promising the weekend was”.
“I don’t think it was a faulty rubber, it’s just that we haven’t made the rubber work well, I suppose due to the set-up.”
Mir did not want to make blood with the action in which Miller, with whom he has had quarrels in the past, threw him to the ground.
“Braking straight, he didn’t have so many problems, it was when he leaned the bike. When I saw what happened to me, I wasn’t sure if he was going to enter, I saw that he slipped in but I was already inside the curve, I released the brakes but I couldn’t Well, he was a bit optimistic in that overtaking, he took me ahead and it’s a shame, but they are mistakes that I have also had at times, we take risks, they are races and it can happen”.
“I hope he learns from what happened today and that it doesn’t happen in the future. At first I reacted ironically by applauding him, but when I saw that he was hurt I worried about his condition and went to see how he was”.
What happened with Mir has contrasted with the race of Alex Rins, climbing from third to last position to fourth, without so many set-up problems, they asked the Spaniard if Rins’s technical part works better than his.
“I don’t know how to answer this question,” Mir settled the issue.
