MotoGP India: Breakthrough ride for Joan Mir? ‘I think we could be close to Jorge and Fabio’

After seeing predecessors Jorge Lorenzo and Pol Espargaro struggle, not to mention Marc Marquez’s dwindling results, Joan Mir must have been braced for a tough debut MotoGP season at Repsol Honda.
Joan Mir, MotoGP, Indian MotoGP, 23 September
Joan Mir, MotoGP, Indian MotoGP, 23 September

But few would have predicted the 2020 world champion would score points in just one of the opening 12 rounds/24 races, ꦍincluding twice being sidelined by injuries.

It was enough for Mir to briefly contemplate retirement, but there was finall𒉰y some light at the end of the tunnel in India where Mir made a step-change in form.

Qualifying f🅷ifth, just ahead of Marquez, Mir fell from the lead group in the Saturday Sprint but made amends with fifth in the Sunday race, directly behind the KTM of Brad Binder.

“A great race today,” said Mir, whose only previous Honda points ꦰcame from eleventh🔯 place in the Portimao season opener.

“I am super happy with our performance over the weekend and o🏅f course to finish in fifth position is a big boost for us. The team and I did a great job to understand the bike more, how you need to make the lap time an🦩d be fast this weekend.”

Mir revealed he might even have been able to keep pace with podium finisher🍸s Jorge Martin and Fabio Quartararo had he not been troubled by a rear tyre vibratꩲion.

“We had a small thing in the end of th🔜e race [vibration] that meant I lost ground to Fabio and we dropped𓄧 back,” he said.

“I started to have vibration coming from the rear tyre. I thought that I couldn't finish the race, then when ℱI was spinning more and more, it was like disappearing a bit more.

“So that conditioned the second par♔t of our race a little bit, and I think that we could be close to Jorge [Martin] and Fabio today, honestly.

“Fiꦐnally in the end we were able to push and try to catch Binder after I almost crashed. It was a big save! But yeah, a really nice race overall and I have enjoyed my time in India.

“Let’s keep it up in Japan!”

Mir said earlier in the weekend that he hopes to switch to🦋 the 2024 prototype, tried at the Misꦐano test, in Motegi.

Team-mate Marquez recovered to ninth place after falling from fourth𒈔.

Breakthrough ride for Joan Mir? ‘I think we could be close to Jorge and Fabio'

Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He♒ is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’sꦓ injury issues.

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