Beaming Joan Mir explains why his Honda has never been better

Joan Mir says the opening day of MotoGP testing in Malaysia ahead of the 2025 season was his best as a Honda rider as “all the steps we made, we are very sure about them”.

The 2020 world champion has endured a difficult two years since joining Honda at the start of the 2023 season, with last season seeing him come away with just 21 points in 21st in the standings.

Honda has made a big push over the winter to transform its fortunes, most notably with the signing of Romano Albesiano from Aprilia as technical director.

The bike Mir rode on track at Sepang on Wednesday in testing hasn’t been influenced by Albesiano, but there were clear signs of progress with the RC213V.

Ending the day sixth overall after 54 laps, Mir tried two versions of the Honda.

Asked if this was his best test day with Honda, Mir replied: “Today, yes.”

Joan Mir explains Honda joy

Detailing the gains Honda has made, Mir - who said he “was improving every exit” - added: “We ended the day being quite fast with used tyres and also with new tyres.

“I’m happy because we more or less understood the line that we want to continue to do during this test.

“We find more or less the set-up and the geometry that allows me to ride in the way that I ride, a way that I was not able to ride in the last season, especially the second part of the season.

“And now Honda brings a package that allows me to do it. I was happy in every exit, I was smiling because I was enjoying on the bike.

“Our bike is not fast on the straight, not fast at all - we are the slowest. But for sure we improved on the straights, and I’m sure we don’t lose more than three or four tenths in those two straights [at Sepang].

“So, this means with that we can get closer, seriously closer because we improved on the braking area.

“I was able to brake how I know. I was able to turn. I was having this vibration still but for some reason I was able to manage it. They worked hard on it and, honestly, it pays off.

“The grip is still something we need one step, and the top speed. In the next two days we will focus on those things.

“I hope we can leave behind all the things we tried today, to not retry, because we made a really good day of testing.

“And all the steps we made, we are very sure about it. That is super good, that makes me happy.”

Joan Mir on Honda weakness

A key weakness for the Honda in recent years has been a lack of rear grip.

Mir says this hasn’t improved in terms of “pure grip”, but better turning with the bike has helped in this area.

“Mostly we improved the turning,” he said.

“The aero, with some stuff, we also improved that.

“We created probably a little bit better ground effect in the turning area, and that also improved the grip because if you carry more speed, you can be more precise with the throttle, you can get more grip.

“You don’t open from zero. So, that improved the grip. But what is pure grip, we didn’t make any step today.”

A new tail on the Honda grabbed attention on Wednesday, though Mir remained coy on what exactly the Japanese marque was looking for: “I cannot speak so much [about this]. The thing is that it’s not very beautiful. Apart from this, I cannot say much.”

Quotes provided by Crash MotoGP Editor Peter McLaren