Last year the challenge of defending the 2020 title was difficult for Joan Mir, who in 2021 collected only six podiums and finished the season in third position in the general classification due to a lack of development of the GSX-RR.
So far, Suzuki’s reaction for 2022 has been judged very positive by both riders, both Mir and his teammate Alex Rins, the latter fourth in the overall time standings at the end of the two days of MotoGP testing at Sepang. Mir finished 12th at 398 thousandths from the best time, but was unable to carry out the time attack on Sunday afternoon due to the rain that hit the circuit.
The Suzuki rider feels that the bike’s top speed has clearly improved, although he says there will be work to be done this weekend in the upcoming tests in Indonesia. However, he believes the GSX-RR is almost ready: “We are close and we are happy with it. We have improved the top speed, we are in the middle and this is a very important thing ”.
“We know we have a fast bike, but it was difficult to overtake when we had to fight with the Ducatis using the engine we had. Every race was the same story, it was always a bit complicated. A little more power is a big help to me, and I expect this advantage to go much better. I am satisfied, but I am not extremely happy, because there is work to be done. But everything is fine, I feel satisfied with everything. I can say I’m happy ”.
Mir explained that the engine character of the new Suzuki, first tested in pre-season testing in Qatar last year, is identical to that of the 2020 version which raced last year due to the cost reduction for the Covid. However, the Majorcan did not go into specifics in explaining where the 2022 engine was best: “The character is the same, but you don’t feel it on the bike. It shows in the data when you follow someone. There are more laps ”.
Joan Mir, Suzuki MotoGP Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
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