Honda backed for keeping faith in Joan Mir

Repsol Honda’s decision to keep Joan Mir alongside Luca Marini next year gives them the best chance to develop, it is claimed.

Mir’s new contract, which ties him to Honda for two more years, was perhaps surprising due to his struggles since joining from Suzuki.

Such was his misery last year, his first riding the Honda, he contemplated retirement.

But after Mir confirmed he would stay for 2025 and 2026, TNT Sports’ Sylvain Guintoli reacted: “For Joan and for Honda, keeping the same line-up is a good idea.

“The situation that they found themselves in, at the moment, is to catch up.

“From the start when Honda started to make changes to the aero side and the chassis, for [Mir and Marini] sticking with that project is a good idea.

“When you try to rebuild a project, you need consistency.

“Putting two new riders on, it would be more difficult to get good feedback.

“These guys know what does not work.

“For the evolution of the bike, these guys are the best guys to assess it.”

Marini joined Repsol Honda this season, becoming a factory rider for the first time after leaving VR46.

But he has been glued to the back of the grid for the entire season, and is rooted to the bottom of the MotoGP standings.

With just one point all season, Marini is below even Dani Pedrosa who rode once as a wildcard.

Mir has fared slightly better in his second season on the below-par bike.

Honda will introduce a new engine at the next round in Austria.

Both Mir and Marini have run a less powerful version of Honda’s engine at the past three rounds, as they sought the ideal optimisation of the bike.

This year’s revised concessions rules give Honda the opportunity to introduce a new engine midway through the season, designed to power their progression back to the front.