New MotoGP leader Mir - “I go race-by-race. I don’t care about championship"

Joan Mir maintains he will continue to push dreams of winning the 2020 MotoGP World Championship title to the back of his mind in his quest to first secure a maiden race win.

The latest twist in what has been a meandering 2020 MotoGP season with eight different race winners, Mir’s run to third in the Aragon MotoGP - his fifth podium of the season - sees him ascend past three-time race winner Fabio Quartararo to the head of the overall standings.

This is despite the Suzuki rider - in his second season of MotoGP - having yet to reach the top of the podium himself. In Aragon he looked closer than ever before tyres issues held him back in the closing laps, allowing his team-mate Alex Rins to win. 

“I am really happy about today, I am happy for Suzuki because they got a victory with Alex. I felt great for much of the race, I overtook Vinales and then I closed the gap quickly to Rins but then with eight or seven laps to go, I started to have some trouble with the front part of the bike - these temperatures were the hottest of the weekend so to get the correct choice for a race when you’re running behind someone,

“It was a shame because in some parts of the race I felt really strong but today was not the day to get the victory, but we have first in the championship so I am happy for that.

With sheer consistency becoming the unintended bedrock of Mir’s surprise title tilt, the Spaniard says that while he’s happy to have this to fall back upon, he can’t fathom the prospect of winning the 2020 MotoGP World Championship without first scoring a race victory.

“It’s true we are showing consistency so it is probably the most difficult thing to have, to always be on the podium. It’s easy I think when the bike goes perfectly and everything comes to make a win but when you struggle [it’s important] to get a good result anyway. This is why I am the leader at the moment, this was the key in other races.”

He doesn’t have too many opportunities to win with only four rounds of the 2020 MotoGP season remaining, even if it means he is well placed championship-wise. 

As it stands, Mir leads Quartararo by six points, with Maverick Vinales and Andrea Dovizoso 12 and 15 points behind the Suzuki man respectively.

“The way I am approaching the championship, I go race-by-race. I don’t care a lot about the championship. Every race I care more but I don’t care as much as probably other riders

“What I am looking for is the victory, so I won’t change the approach of my races and I will continue to get a victory and then if I have enough points’ advantage then I will start to think about the championship.