MotoGP | Mir disappointed by Honda news: “I expected more”

Joan Mir arrived in Misano last Wednesday and was struck by a virus during the night that prevented him from showing up at the circuit on Thursday. The situation worsened so much that he was unable to go out on the track. The Majorcan was forced to withdraw from the weekend with the aim of recovering in view of this Monday’s test, which would have been crucial for Honda.

“I’m finished, destroyed. We did a lot of laps, I’m very tired. We rode a lot, but above all, when you lose a lot of fluids and weight, almost two kilos in two or three days, it shows. Not being able to get out of the motorhome or ride the bike devastated me,” reiterated the 2020 world champion.

Mir was able to get back on track for the tests, which he was deeply disappointed by because he expected some important innovations that he believes did not arrive: “I was able to do the test, but the truth is that I expected more. I expected to have more things to try. I expected bigger improvements and that was the reality,” he explained with frustration.

Mir then went into detail about what he tested: “We tested a bit different aerodynamics, the bike turns a bit better in the corners and it will help us a lot in the last part of the season that remains. There will be fast tracks coming and that will be noticeable, they did a good job here. But that’s it, they didn’t bring many other things to test and this is not the Misano test I expected”.

During the tests, all five riders were seen with different Hondas, the two official riders Mir and Luca Marini, the two LCR riders Johann Zarco and Takaaki Nakagami, and the tester Stefan Bradl. Many contrasting and mixed opinions and tests. “I keep my opinion on the matter to myself. I haven’t tried things that the LCR riders have tried and I’ve tried things that they haven’t mounted. Well, that’s it. Now a new part is tested by someone from LCR before it reaches the official rider and this is a bit strange”.

On the new Michelin front tire, Mir had positive feedback: “It’s different, it seems like a bigger tire for the sensations it gives you, but in reality it’s not. But you have to change the setup of the bike, the tire touches the ground more and the sensation is different. In the end you ask and the tire responds, this is something that works”.

Finally, he was asked about the new radio system for pilots: “I haven’t tried it, but if it really works and we use it for safety, it seems like a good thing. But if it’s for show and it complicates things for us, more than a few people will change their minds.”