Joan Mir bolsters MotoGP title figthting credentials as he continues podium run

Joan Mir continued to prove why he is increasingly considered a genuine contender for 2020 MotoGP World Championship glory in only his second season with another confident run to the podium in Barcelona.

His fourth podium in five races, Mir's began in a familiar way with the Suzuki - which is known for struggling during the opening portion of the race - losing ground to the leading Yamaha trio even if he ran well in fifth after a good start.

However, as the race entered the closing stages and tyres became a critical factor, Mir and team-mate Alex Rins began to make headway up front, relieving Franco Morbidelli of second place on the penultimate lap and even coming close to overhauling Fabio Quartararo.

Regardless, another podium for Mir means he joins Quartararo in forming a small breakaway group out front, just eight points shy of the Frenchman.

“I am super happy about today, I think we made a really good job all weekend just working for the race. We know our strongest point is not the fast lap and we gave our maximum in qualifying and to start in eighth position is never easy, but at the beginning I tried to recover a lot of positions without being in a lot of trouble. 

"Then I was behind Jack [Miller] but the front group was pushing so hard in the first part of the race, then in the middle of the race I started to feel better and recover distance.

"Then I was feeling great, I saw other riders were struggling - we also, but not as much as they were. I was close to catching Fabio but he made a really good job, he pushed his bike and tyres at the maximum and was clearly faster than us. 

"I am happy to have another Suzuki on the podium, it is very special for all of Suzuki and I am happy for my team."