MotoGP, Mir: “We need a more predictable bike. I couldn’t stop it.”

At the checkered flag, 17 seconds behind Martin, who won the Sprint Race in Japan, Joan Mir admits his disappointment at the evident problems of his RC213V, despite some timid progress.

“I didn’t expect such a tough race,” he said. “In qualifying, I felt good and believed I could get into the Q2 without any problems, which would have been great considering our current potential. But the accident at turn six affected my day. It’s too bad, because I had managed to set the time on my own, keeping a 1’43”. However, then racing with the same amount of gas and the same tires, I even struggled to stay on a 1’45”.”

It’s obvious that there’s still a lot of work to be done in HRC. “We’ll have to find a way to be  more competitive in the future and have a more predictable bike. I couldn’t stop it, and that made me lose precious tenths. I’m not at all satisfied,”  he said, before going into detail. “We lack the grip that others have, and we are forced to use the brakes and the front tire a lot. Also, when you go beyond the limit, the problems are amplified. If you can’t brake the bike, your performance suffers too.”

It doesn’t seem to have given comfort to the 2024 version of the frame either. “I tried it for two laps, but the electronics didn’t respond well, and then I went back to the old one. It’s not easy to do tests on race weekends. You have to analyze it calmly because it changes a lot.”

Despite having noticed some small improvement after Buddh, the 26-year-old realized there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done, without getting into the specifics and revealing his cards on future plans. And, speaking of tomorrow, the rider from Spain commented on the movements going on in the upper echelons of the company. “The technical handicaps are still present. So, for now, I haven’t noticed anything,” he minimized the fact that new riders are joining the team, which is aimed at improving the overall conditions.

Finally, #36 focused on the slipstream: “I took advantage of it in India with Marquez and here, yesterday, with Martin, while, like said, I did the time alone in the Q1. Nonetheless, they’re still a big help.”