Mir “didn’t expect” MotoGP rivals to make the gains they have in 2021
Reigning MotoGP world champion Joan Mir admits he "didn’t expect" the step forward rival manufacturers have made over Suzuki in 2021.


Mir has been critical of the lack of progress Suzuki has made with its 2021 challenger compared to the bike he won the championship on last year, noting after the Dutch TT last month that his current package was “not enough” to defend his title with.
PLUS: Why Mir's MotoGP title defence can’t be written off yet
Scoring just three podiums from the first nine races – all of them third-places – Mir is 55 points adrift of championship leader Fabio Quartararo going into the second half of the season.
Development on engines for all but Aprilia (because it is a concession team) and KTM (which lost its concessions under a COVID-forced development freeze in 2020) was frozen over the winter, meaning Suzuki hasn’t been able to radically overhaul its GSX-RR for 2021.
But Mir doesn’t believe the development freeze has anything to do with Suzuki’s current slump and thinks the marque has been caught out by the progress the likes of Yamaha, Ducati and Aprilia has made over the winter.
“Well, I think the frozen evolution doesn’t help us but it doesn’t make it worse because it’s true that if the evolution wasn’t froze, we could improve the engine,” he said in an exclusive interview with Autosport.
“But the others could improve it [too].
“So, I think that it’s more that they [Suzuki] didn’t find a big step to make the bike better this winter.
“So, I think this is the real problem. Normally, the philosophy of Suzuki is a philosophy I share, because they normally don’t bring new bikes.
“In the pre-season tests, you see Honda, Yamaha, Ducati, also Aprilia, KTM with different bikes.
“And Suzuki normally never brings a new bike.
“They bring a new chassis, a new swingarm, engine, step-by-step and progressively try to make a step on the bike.
“So, normally this works but you have to bring some things.
“Also, I have to say I didn’t expect such a big improvement from the other manufacturers.
“I didn’t expect it. Probably Suzuki also. This makes it probably a bit more difficult.”

Joan Mir, Team Suzuki MotoGP
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Mir also batted away suggestions team manager Davide Brivio’s exit pre-season has contributed to Suzuki’s tough season.
The world champion is pinning his title hopes on the introduction of the rear ride height adjuster – which the Suzuki is the only bike not to have it – in the second half of the season, but has been buoyed by the improvement KTM was able to make from the Italian GP when it introduced a relatively small update in the form of a new chassis.
“We saw at KTM it’s a big boost because it shows that with the same effort that [Miguel] Oliveira and [Brad] Binder were doing [at the start of the year], now they are fighting to win races,” he added.
“So, it’s a little bit what we miss. We also start with a disadvantage, which is everyone started with a holeshot device and we don’t have this device.
“So, this for the acceleration at the moment we are in a disadvantage.
“So, let’s see once we are all with the same stuff and then Suzuki starts to bring new things to be faster, let’s see where we will be. I think [with] that we will be strong.”
Related video

Thailand MotoGP round cancelled for second year in a row
Why MotoGP will miss its gentle giant

Latest news
Daytona 24: Westbrook’s Ganassi Cadillac tops second practice
Richard Westbrook ensured Cadillac’s new V-LMDh snagged top spot in second practice for the Daytona 24 Hours, ahead of the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Andretti Autosport Acura.
Auer suffers back injury in Daytona 24 practice shunt
Mercedes driver Lucas Auer has suffered a back injury and been taken to hospital following a violent crash in opening practice for this weekend's Daytona 24 Hours.
Daytona 24: WTR Acura tops heavily interrupted FP1
Five red flags disrupted the first practice session for this weekend's Daytona 24 Hours, while Filipe Albuquerque put the Wayne Taylor Racing Andretti Autosport Acura on top.
Pedrosa to make KTM MotoGP wildcard outing in Spanish GP
Dani Pedrosa will make his first MotoGP race start since the 2021 Styrian Grand Prix with a wildcard entry for KTM at this year’s Spanish GP in April.
The other Suzuki signing that could transform Honda's MotoGP form
Following Suzuki's decision to quit MotoGP, both of its former riders have landed at Honda for 2023. But perhaps its biggest signing from the now-defunct team could instead be a highly-rated technical manager. Is Ken Kawauchi the right man at the right time to steer HRC back to glory?
How the MotoGP paddock has offered refuge to Suzuki's former team
Suzuki's unexpected departure left more than 40 professionals virtually jobless for the 2023 MotoGP season. But that human drama has been successfully corrected by the paddock itself, with most former Suzuki crew-members absorbed into other operations
How one MotoGP team went from title fights to losing it all in four years
The Petronas Sepang Racing Team came into MotoGP with a bang in 2019 as regular front-runners, with wonder rookie Fabio Quartararo mounting a title challenge in 2020. But it all went wrong for the Razlan Razali-helmed squad as the team changed hands and tumbled down the order - and RNF Racing plans to right this in 2023
Is MotoGP's comeback king ready to reclaim his throne?
Marc Marquez’s sixth premier MotoGP title seems a long time ago given the injury woes he has faced in the three years since. At the end of a fraught 2022, in which he had a fourth major operation on his right arm, the Spaniard speaks exclusively to Autosport
How MotoGP’s underachiever is working to reverse its fortunes in 2023
As European manufacturers emerged as the strongest force in 2022 in a changing of the guard for MotoGP, one powerhouse couldn’t quite match the feats of Ducati and Aprilia. Its motorsport chief tells Autosport why this is and what it is doing to become a consistent frontrunner in the class of kings
How MotoGP riders are preparing for the physical stress of sprint races
With the expansion of the calendar to 21 grands prix and the introduction of sprint races, the 2023 MotoGP season will take the riders to almost 1,300 kilometres of competition more than this year, a factor that forces adjustments in their physical preparations.
The Ducati rider who is much more than just the brother of a MotoGP legend
Surname pressure is something many have had to deal with in their motorsport careers. And while Luca Marini doesn’t have that, his familial relation and the team he rides for in MotoGP have cast a brighter spotlight on his progress. But, as he has shown in 2022 – and as he reveals to Autosport – Marini is so much more than just the brother of a legend
Ranking the top 10 riders of MotoGP 2022
The 2022 MotoGP season was another hotly contested championship, with Francesco Bagnaia emerging as the title winner after the campaign went to the wire. Autosport picks out the 10 best performers of the season
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.