The 2020 world champion is at a pivotal moment in his career. Joan Mir, in fact, is seriously evaluating his future according to what Suzuki will be able to offer him in terms of performance so as to provide him with the weapons to try to fight for the world title.
The two days of MotoGP tests in Sepang represent the first real test for the Suzuki GSX-RR 2022, a bike that the project leader Sahara San has defined as improved in every respect.
“On this first day we concentrated on the different fairings of the two frames” declared Mir after finishing with the seventh time in 1’59”067 and a total of 68 laps. “I felt comfortable with both solutions, although there are still some aspects to be fixed. Tonight we will have to work on electronics ”.
Mir then stated that decisions will have to be made by Sunday on which parts will be adopted on this year’s bike and which parts to discard.
Joan Mir, Suzuki MotoGP Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“One frame is better in braking, while the other in driveability. At the moment, however, I am satisfied and the times are not bad ”continued the 2020 world champion after closing the day with a gap of 7 tenths from Aleix Espargaro.
The most important update brought by Suzuki to Sepang, however, is the one relating to the new engine. After two years of freezing due to the pandemic, the Japanese company can finally use an engine that should allow a leap forward in terms of power.
“The new engine looks ok. The margin compared to the former is not that large, but this data may not be entirely reliable. It is true, the new engine seems to provide something more but the bike still maintains its character ”commented Mir, underlining the always docile behavior of Suzuki, a fundamental point for both him and Alex Rins.
“We didn’t particularly work on the set-up. We arrived on the circuit, we went straight to the track and the result was good ”.
At the end of this first day, the Suzuki rider said he was satisfied and optimistic about what he had seen.
“Sure, it’s only the first day of testing, but I’m happy. During the winter I trained a lot and today I think I have passed the first exam ”.
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