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
How a MotoGP favourite’s return happened in a year ‘not even Hitchcock could script'
Having retired from MotoGP at the end of 2021, Danilo Petrucci finds himself with Suzuki this weekend for an unlikely Thailand Grand Prix outing.
Binder hopes Motegi MotoGP podium “sign of things to come” for KTM
KTM’s Brad Binder says he hopes his second-place finish in last weekend’s MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix “is a sign of things to come” for the Austrian marque.
“Having no time to brood” only positive of Suzuki’s final home MotoGP race
Suzuki team boss Livio Suppo says the fact the squad “doesn’t have time to brood” is “the only positive” of its disastrous final MotoGP race on home soil in Japan.
Crutchlow explains “panic” that hindered his Japan MotoGP race
Cal Crutchlow says a bike alarm on his way to the grid caused him to “panic” and forget to engage his starting devices, which hindered his MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix.
The talent-outweighing ambition that will kill Ducati’s 2022 MotoGP title hopes
OPINION: For the fourth time in 2022, Francesco Bagnaia has made a costly error while battling other riders. Crashing while chasing one point at the Japanese Grand Prix has lost him eight to a struggling Fabio Quartararo. With just four rounds remaining and a history of errors in high-pressure situations, Bagnaia and Ducati need a serious rethink to stop its best opportunity of a title in 15 years slipping away
The unique advantage Ducati must now use to win the 2022 MotoGP title
Ducati has littered the grid with eight strong motorcycles that has ensured it has had at least one rider stand on the podium at every grand prix in 2022. The drama of the Aragon Grand Prix has thrust Francesco Bagnaia well and truly into title contention with five races to go, and Ducati must now consider utilising a unique strength it has so far been reticent to embrace
How KTM failed one of its brightest MotoGP prospects
Reigning Moto2 champion Remy Gardner’s career has been derailed by KTM’s decision not to retain him at Tech3 for 2023. Amid difficult circumstances, Gardner hasn’t shamed himself. But KTM’s apparent reasoning for dropping him raises questions about its handling of its young riders and the unrealistic expectations placed on them
Why it won’t just be Marquez’s speed that saves Honda in MotoGP
OPINION: Honda is in the midst of a second winless season in the space of three years. The absence of the injured Marc Marquez has been a major contributing factor, but HRC’s inability to alter its own approach has seen it slide down the order. Marquez returned to the MotoGP paddock in Austria and provided a rallying cry Honda needed to hear.
The signs Quartararo’s 2022 MotoGP title is slipping away from him
Prior to the summer break, the 2022 MotoGP title looked like it was Fabio Quartararo’s to lose. But a crash at Assen and the consequential penalty he had to serve last weekend at Silverstone stopped him from capitalising on a main rival’s injury woes, while a resurgence from another, plus the rise of a former team-mate, look set to conspire against the Yamaha rider
Why Marquez’s toughest MotoGP foe is stopping at the right time
On the eve of the British Grand Prix, Andrea Dovizioso announced that he will be retiring from MotoGP after September’s San Marino GP. The timing of his departure raised eyebrows, but his reasoning remains sensible and what has happened this year should not diminish a hard-built legacy
Why a Suzuki refugee feels he deserves MotoGP's toughest challenge
Alex Rins’ MotoGP future was plunged into sudden doubt when Suzuki elected to quit the series at the end of 2022. Securing a deal with Honda to join LCR, he will now tread a path that many have fallen off from. But it was a move he felt his status deserved, and it’s a challenge – he tells Autosport - he faces with his eyes wide open…
How Formula 1 has driven MotoGP's changing nature
The hiring of technicians from Formula 1 has clearly contributed to a recent change in the MotoGP landscape, with the role of engineers gaining greater significance relative to the riders. Here's how this shift has come about