Joan Mir “optimistic” Honda “did something great” ahead of 2025 MotoGP season

Joan Mir says he is “optimistic” Honda “did something great” with its 2025 bike in testing ahead of the new MotoGP season, but is unwilling to make any bold predictions.

Honda finished last in the 2024 constructors’ championship with just 75 points after a miserable year in which the marque’s best result was an eighth in wet conditions in Thailand.

Though Honda has gained strong technical leadership in ex-Aprilia man Romano Albesiano, his influence is yet to truly take effect.

But that didn't stop Honda from making a clear step forward with it RC213V in testing, with Mir noting afterwards that it was the first time that he felt genuinely competitive in his time with the brand.

Joan Mir previews Honda MotoGP 2025 hopes

Asked on Thursday ahead of the Thai Grand Prix what his optimism levels are, Mir said: “Not too high, but in a good mood I would say because I’m optimistic.

“I’m nervous to start the season because I want to see and to demonstrate and to understand.

“But from other parts, the last years I understood that I can’t be super optimistic because I need to protect a bit myself in case that it’s not working.

“This is also a mental game. So, I will try to give my best.

“Honestly, the pre-season was good, was positive, I was able to stay in the positions that I would like to be during the season.

“And not only once, all the days that we did. I hope to continue in that line, I hope to not have unexpected problems.

“But on another hand, I’m optimistic that what we did in the test was something great.

“Was something nice. We did a good long run. We did just one lap that I think we can improve. So, we’ve done everything to start the season more prepared than the last two years.”

Honda’s Japanese rival Yamaha also looks to have made a step forward over the winter, with several notable figures highlighting the latter with Fabio Quartararo as being potential threat in 2025.

Mir believes the race pace he showed in testing on the Honda was good enough for the “top five”, but doesn’t want to compare where HRC is relative to Yamaha.

“Well, the reality is that in the test the long run was very fast,” he said.

“I don’t want to look at that so much, because I don’t know how realistic it is.

“That is a bit the reality. I think that pace is the top five pace, but I don’t know Yamaha and in the case of Fabio, I don’t think his lap was good but his pace was good.

“And I’m sure they will make a step this weekend. As I said, I don’t want to look at that so much because I don’t want to be super optimistic.”

Quotes provided by Crash MotoGP Editor Peter McLaren