Joan Mir: Keep ‘taking the maximum we can from our package’

The maximum points a MotoGP constructor can now score on a grand prix weekend is 37, for victory in both the Sprint and Grand Prix races.

Ducati has claimed full marks on three occasions in the five rounds this season. Aprilia completed a perfect weekend in COTA, while KTM has a best of 29 out of 37 (Qatar).

In an illustration of how much work still lies ahead for the Japanese factories, Yamaha’s top weekend haul is 10 points (Portimao) and Honda's just 5 (Jerez).

Joan Mir, Honda’s leading rider so far in the post-Marc Marquez era, seemed to be openly pondering his future last time at Le Mans, with comments about ‘how long my body can take this’ and of ‘doing my best but you can't expect miracles’.

The flicker of light at the end of the tunnel is that, while joining his fellow RC213V race riders in dismissing the Stefan Bradl prototype used at the Spanish MotoGP, Mir felt a ‘new concept’ tried in the post-race test was at least a step in the right direction.

But the timeframe for when the ‘concept’ will be race-ready remains unclear.

It is assumed that more kilometres were dedicated to that ‘concept’ at the recent private Mugello test, attended by the Honda race riders ahead of this weekend’s Catalunya round.

However, the 2020 world champion indicated he will again be trying to get the maximum out of the current package - which lacks turning and acceleration - in front of his home fans.

“I am excited to be back in front of the home fans, it’s always a busy weekend for us as riders but you enjoy it no matter what,” Mir said ahead of Barcelona.

“We arrive here in a positive way, our final result [double DNF] in France is not what we wanted but in the last two races we have been able to make good progress during the weekend.

“This is what I want to maintain, improving and taking the maximum we can from our package.

“Let’s have a good weekend and put on a nice show for all the fans!”

Team-mate Luca Marini arrives at round six still seeking his first Repsol Honda point.

“We’ve been working a lot even since the last race, always trying to improve,” Marini said.

“That’s the focus for this weekend again, keep working with the things that we have found and collecting as much information as we can.

“Let’s see what happens and how the weekend progresses for us, I want to be closer to my team-mate this weekend.”

Mir, runner-up at Catalunya as a Suzuki rider in his title winning season, has a best grand prix result of 12th so far this season and ninth in a Sprint.