After a complicated Friday, Joan Mir's progress predicted chances of a good Saturday on the Assen circuit but, instead, a 13th place in qualifying was basically the only positive aspect of the day for the Honda factory rider, who ended his Sprint Race with a ffall on the first lap.
"At turn three, I went through the dirt and lost the front. There's not much to say about the sprint, but I'm happy with qualifying, because I was so close to earning a place in the Q,2 and I'm happy with the progress we made since yesterday. We're still not where we want to be, but I was able to get a decent lap time. There's still something we need to figure out to improve in corner entry and also when accelerating in corner exit. But we soon hope to receive some development with which we'll get better results on fluid tracks like this or Mugello," he affirmed.
"Any ideas on when they'll come? No, but I hope soon, because the other manufacturers have improved in testing and we haven't," he continued. "I think, with the tools I had in the first part of the season, I could've done something more. But we have to accept the fact that these kinds of tracks aren't the best for us, because they highlight our weaknesses very well, like the long corners and open-throttle entry, which is an area where we have a lot of problems, and also the long straights."
As a spectator of the Sprint that he finished ahead of time, the rider from Majorcan was asked why Alex Marquez didn't try to attack his brother Marc.
"You have to ask him," he replied. "But I saw that he had something more, especially in the third and fourth sectors. I don't know about the last laps, because Marc is very good when you start to slide a bit but, in the earlier ones, Alex would have had, without any problem, the opportunity to overtake him before the chicane, in the fast left turn. I don't know why he didn't do it. He probably expected Marc to drop, or maybe he was happy with the points he was gaining on Pecco. I don't know, but I saw a very strong Alex today."
Is it more difficult to overtake at Assen than in past years?
"It's not more complicated than past years, but the difference is now that the level of the bikes is very high, and you don't have to manage the tires while, here, in the past, you had to manage them a bit, and you could even do group races in years like 2019. Now it's no longer possible, because there are six bikes that are better than the others and have no drop, while the rest of us have much more wear than them. TVs like the show more up front, as is normal, but life in the rear is better!" Joan said, jokingly.
Turning his focus back to his weekend, Mir concluded by talking about his expectations for tomorrow's GP.
"If we look at the second practice session that, unlike the others, we raced using the same tires, we were about three or four tenths from the leaders. So, we're not far behind. But the fact that we have to overtake and the starting position don't help," he acknowledged. "I hope I can get a good start tomorrow, be in a good group, and then be able to make some progress. I think it's doable."