MotoGP - Mir: "I don't think I can win at Le Mans"

The Suzuki rider started the first free practice of the morning very well and set the fastest time in the first part of practice, held in wet conditions, finishing FP1 in third position.

However, in the afternoon, with a cold but dry track, the problems came for Joan Mir who also suffered a crash, which ended up relegating him to 13th position at the end of the day.

“I felt good in the wet, in the dry it wasn’t bad, but something wasn’t working with the front wheel. When I wanted to go fast I saw that I couldn’t make a good time and that took me to the ground, I had to take the other bike and the set-up was different. It has made me angry”, admitted the man from Suzuki.

“Tomorrow we will improve. It’s not our best circuit, but I think we have room to improve here. I’m looking forward to getting out on the track. It will be difficult for us to be with the first ones because here, the other bikes work very well. We will try to get out of this weekend minimizing the risks”, added the Mallorcan.

Undoubtedly, the feelings transmitted by the current world champion were not the most optimistic for the French weekend.

“I have put everything on my part to make things work and that fall has hurt me. I hope to do a dry session tomorrow, although the sensations are not the best. Here it seems that the other bikes are doing well and it’s hard for us. Last year was the worst result on this circuit, I didn’t feel well today and I crashed. I am confident that I can turn the situation around, although I don’t think I can win on Sunday. But if I am focused and can fight with the top five I will be satisfied”, he lowered expectations.

The problems are reduced, in principle, to the characteristics of the layout.

“Le Mans is difficult for our bike, I liked it and enjoyed it in the other categories, but now I just don’t feel comfortable. The team has worked well and I think I can improve tomorrow, but I don’t know to what extent”, Mir insisted.

The problem is focused on the front end of the GSX-RR .

“When you don’t have a good feeling with the front end, it’s because you don’t feel that the bike is ready to be faster, it gives you the feeling that the wheel is slipping and that prevents you from turning the bike and stopping it in the corners. This asphalt does not consume tires, so the most important thing here is to have confidence in the front wheel”, he argued.

Given such an unoptimistic situation, perhaps a flag- to-flag race is not the worst news for Mir.

“I don’t particularly want to do a flag- to-flag race, but it’s an experience that I have to live sometime to grow as a rider and the sooner we live it, the better. It’s a little weird having to change bikes in the middle of a race, but I’m not put off, although honestly I prefer a dry race”.

“I don’t think it will help (a race in the wet), I am confident to turn the situation around tomorrow and be in the top 10 in FP3 . I think we can have a good weekend, I’m optimistic, I felt good in the water, I’m more or less fast and that’s important”.

Finally, Mir spoke about the double that will take place in August in Austria, a track where last year was very strong.

“I don’t think it’s bad, Austria is not a circuit where we have problems going fast. I don’t really know why the bike is doing well there and I feel good on that circuit, so it doesn’t hurt us. I don’t know what Finland is like and I can’t compare it and know if we would do better there. But hey, at least we are going to have more vacation days”, the man from Palma consoled himself.