Joan Mir: "The most important year of my career"

Joan Mir knows he can’t afford to repeat last year’s miserable debut Repsol Honda MotoGP season and labels 2024 as 'the most important year of my career'

Suzuki’s 2020 world champion scored just 26 points last season and didn’t see a Sunday chequered flag once from April to August, as accidents and injuries took their toll.

A fifth place in India provided a brief glimmer of hope but proved to be his only top ten appearance.

Fortunately, the heavily revised 2024 Honda prototype, which Mir took to tenth (+0.692s) at the recent Sepang test, is showing signs of progress.

“The truth is this is a very important year for me, maybe the most important of my professional career so far,” Mir said at today’s Repsol Honda team launch.

“If a rider has one year that’s not okay… then two in a row is even worse. So I want it to work. I will do my best. I think Honda is on the same page and I’m very optimistic.”

“It looks like it’s a year of changes,” he added. “The bike is completely different and the new livery is very aggressive.

“Honestly, I think we’ve improved a little bit of everything. We just miss a little bit of acceleration at the moment, then something on the aerodynamics.

“But the bike is already completely different in terms of aerodynamics. It looks more like a modern bike! Last year there was only one wing and this year there are a lot.”

Among the many changes for Mir this season is a move to the other side of the garage to work with Marc Marquez’s former crew, headed by Santi Hernandez.

“This is a good change, let's say, because with Santi it was very natural at the Sepang test,” Mir said. “We were able to create a good atmosphere inside the box which very important for a rider and we were able to work well together.

“Also with all the mechanics was something very great. I really enjoy working with them and I think we can make a good team this season.”

Team manager Alberto Puig insisted there are no question marks over Mir despite last season.

"We know Joan from the past and we know last year he struggled a lot with the bike, but this year he recovered his confidence and he's a very fast rider. He's a two-time world champion. So we have no question mark on him. So let's see how this new bike can help him to deliver his potential."

Puig has also been pleased with the adaptation into the team by new signing Luca Marini.

"For Luca, he's a new guy, but we are really surprised about the way he’s jumped into the team. It's like we knew him for a long time," Puig said. "He's very precise, very structured. He knows what he wants. 

"He's a young guy that looks very mature in the way he's acting inside the box with the mechanics, with the engineers and at the end of the day he's a very normal guy. 

"From our point of view, it's very easy to work with a person like this and we are very pleased for him to be here with us. 

Unlike new team-mate Luca Marini, Mir’s current contract expires at the end of 2024.

Pre-season testing will conclude in Qatar on February 19-20.