MotoGP | Mir on his new technical boss: “Marc's titles are not random”

Despite the enormous bond between Marc Mrquez and Santi Hernandez and the successes achieved together as rider and technical manager – six titles in MotoGP and one in Moto2 – the champion from Cervera was unable to bring the technician with him to Gresini Racing, as Ducati gave him he asked to commit for two years, while he only wanted to do it for one (2024).

With the departure of the #93, everything seemed ready for Hernandez and his team, with some changes – Javier Ortiz, the tire manager, left with Marquez and Jordi Castellá became the team coordinator – to oversee the arrival of Luca Marini at Honda.

The Italian explicitly asked to move alongside Hernandez, Valentino Rossi's former suspension technician when the multiple champion from Tavullia was in HRC. A circumstance that would have seen Joan Mir continue with Giacomo Guidotti and his team. However, the Majorcan asked on the same weekend as the last race of last season, in Valencia, that Honda entrust him with the human group that had always been linked to Marquez.

Last year, in his first season with the HRC suit, the 2020 World Champion (Suzuki) did not perform at the level expected of him: he ranked 22nd in the World Championship, with his best result being was the fifth place in India. The fact that his contract expires at the end of 2023 certainly pushed the rider to decide to change.

“It's something that Joan asked for and it was done. We thought it made sense because Santi is Spanish and Giacomo is Italian. We think that drivers are getting closer and closer to a chief mechanic who speaks the same language as them. Both parts are made up of professionals who know the bike. It's more a question of personal affinity,” responded Honda team manager Alberto Puig in a conversation with Motorsport.com during last week's Sepang test.

During the same test session, the writer of these lines asked Mir what his first sensations were after the change of staff and his answer was unequivocal.

“The situation has changed a lot. Santi has a way of working that suits me very well. He is very well supported by the titles he has won and he doesn't just help me from a technical point of view,” Mir replied. “The fact that he has won so many World Championships is no coincidence. I really like his method,” added the number 36.