Joan Mir’s Honda top speed plea: ”We will be very close to the top three”

Joan Mir’s promising COTA MotoGP weekend ended in frustration as the HRC rider crashed out of the Sprint and Grand Prix races.

The former MotoGP champion showed some of his strongest form since joining Honda, including qualifying inside the top ten (eighth) for the first time since India 2023.

But a double DNF meant Austin became another missed opportunity.

“It’s a real shame to crash out again”

Mir was part of a group battling for fourth in Saturday’s Sprint when he fell, then fought back from 13th to tenth in the Grand Prix before another crash - again while trying to fend off the superior straight-line speed of a KTM.

It marked Mir's third crash of the weekend and fifth of the season, placing him equal with Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi for the most falls in the early rounds of 2025.

“It’s a real shame to crash out again while running up in a good position,” Mir said.

“It’s really frustrating to have this happen again because our potential is much more and especially this weekend.

“When riding alone I can be fast but when we are battling with other riders, I lose that feeling. I have to be very aggressive and then these things happen.

“The team and I need to work on this, our situation this year is very different to last year - we have the potential, but we can’t get it out.”

“We will be very close to the top three”

It had been a similarly frustrating story after the Sprint, where Mir set the fourth fastest lap before his accident, again while trying to make up for the RCV’s lack of top speed.

The COTA weekend finished with Mir 16th on the top speed charts.

“We can take the positives and say we are fast and we made the same lap time as Pecco, but I don't feel that I have the tools to fight,” Mir said after the Sprint. “We are amongst the last ones in terms of top speed.

“The crash was my mistake, but you have to risk a bit more than the others. You have to use a bit more front brake, to recover the distance you are losing in top speed.

“The balance with the bike is very good, I'm enjoying riding this bike. But on other hand it’s frustrating.”

Mir explained he had to build up a half-second advantage over the rest of the lap to avoid being overtaken by Pedro Acosta on the straight.

“It's frustrating because with Pedro I had to be half a second per lap faster than the rider behind to avoid being overtaken. Like this it’s difficult.”

Mir added that constantly pushing the front tyre under braking to compensate for engine performance leads to increased front pressure and a loss of grip - similar to the 'dirty air' effect when following another rider closely.

“Something similar happened in Argentina. The front pressure goes up because I have to risk more with the front,” he said. “So this scenario - we had it before and we will have it again in the future if we don't improve.”

But if Honda can find top speed, Mir feels they could challenge for their first podium since Marc Marquez at Phillip Island in 2023.

“If we improve - it's not a little bit, we have to improve a lot - the engine, we will be very close to the top three.

“It’s not the only thing [we need] but it's the biggest issue, especially during the race.

“Because the grip more or less you can handle, you can push a bit more at the beginning. Then you run out of tyre, but you can play a bit.

“But with the engine, every lap you go onto the straight, if you have someone behind, he will overtake you!”

Mir said new HRC technical director Romano Albesiano has assured him that the top-speed issue is being addressed.

“He told me, ‘You are fast’, that they know what the problem is and they are working hard. He said, ‘You have to try stay calm’!”

After years of searching for the right engine character, a major step in the Honda's handling looks to have been made for 2025. The challenge now is boosting power without sacrificing that newfound rideability.

Despite Ducati’s continued dominance at the front, Honda’s early progress is visible. The Japanese manufacturer has climbed from fifth and last in the constructors' standings to second overall.

Johann Zarco (7th) and Luca Marini (9th) also sit inside the top ten of the riders’ standings, with Mir currently 16th - due to three DNFs in the six races. Rookie Somkiat Chantra is yet to score.

The good news for the Honda riders is that, under the concession system, they can receive modified engines during the season. 

The Jerez post-race test at the end of this month is the next obvious date to try such upgrades, but Mir said he doesn't yet know when "something better" will arrive.

The Qatar Grand Prix, from April 11-13, will take place before the Spanish Grand Prix and post-race test.