Why Joan Mir wasn't happy after best MotoGP finish since India 2023

Joan Mir’s frustration at Honda’s lack of top speed continued in Argentina, despite breaking into the MotoGP top ten for only the second time since leaving Suzuki.

The former world champion rode to eighth (Sprint) and ninth (GP) places at Termas de Rio Hondo for his best weekend since India 2023.

Mir felt much more was possible on the improving RC213V, underlined by LCR’s Johann Zarco threatening the podium. But the Spaniard found himself helpless on the straights, making it hard to defend his position.

Although Mir and Zarco were mid-pack on the weekend top speed charts, in sessions without the need for a slipstream - such as free practice - Mir was shown to be lacking 8km/h. A figure repeated in qualifying.

That left Mir vulnerable in the grand prix, where he held an early eighth place before being picked off by the Aprilia of rookie Ai Ogura and KTM of Pedro Acosta.

The Honda rider spent the rest of the race trying to fight Acosta, riding one of the fastest bikes on the grid, crossing the line just a tenth behind before being promoted to ninth by Ogura’s disqualification.

“For sure I’m seeing some steps [but]  the race was ‘desperating’ because I fought all the race with the KTM, a bike with a faster engine than our one, and to defend my position I had to attack a lot on the brakes,” Mir told MotoGP.com.

“Then I overheated the front and honestly it was a big, big challenge to finish this race.

“We cannot say that I’m happy because I’m not.

“I think that our bike here had more potential but I could not defend from the others. Every time I arrived at the straight the rider behind overtook me.

“So we need to understand what we can do to improve in these situations. But I can see how this year I’m able to fight, and this is something good, but as a rider I always want me.”

Honda Progress confirmed by Marini

While Zarco’s front-row qualifying translated into Honda’s best post-Marc Marquez finish in sixth place - seven seconds ahead of Mir - HRC team-mate Luca Marini also showed progress.

After dropping to 15th on lap one, Marini fought his way back to finish right behind Mir in what was already his best Honda result before being bumped into the top ten by Ogura’s disqualification.

“My pace towards the end of the race was really good, we did a big, big step with the setting of the bike compared to yesterday,” Marini explained.

“My team did a great job. It’s a bit of a pity because Miller had a slide at the start, so I had to change my trajectory which put us back a bit.

“I was able to close almost four seconds to Mir after fighting through many riders which meant I had no tyres left right at the end to try and pass him for tenth.

“During the race we were able to understand some more areas to work on in the coming races which should allow us to be better.

“Overall, it has been a good weekend with a couple of limits and the picture for Honda is coming more positive.

“We need to find something in Qualifying to avoid these sorts of situations at the start of the race but super happy with our work.”

Zarco currently leads the Honda challenge with fifth in the world championship.

Mir and Marini, who finished just 21st and 22nd in last year’s world championship, are currently 11th and 12th.