Joan Mir’s signing with Repsol Honda isn’t like the usual MotoGP signing where, in most cases, the rider explores other options because he isn’t happy with his current manufacturer. Instead, Mir was perfectly happy with his motorcycle and team but got blindsided by Suzuki’s shock exit from MotoGP which left him out of a contract for the next year (he was prepared to continue with Suzuki).

Additionally, there weren’t many factory seats up for grabs either, with Ducati planning to retain Bagnaia and promote Martin or Bastianini, Yamaha keeping both their riders and Aprilia doing the same too. This left Mir with either KTM or Honda, and of course, Honda was the safer bet thanks to its rich history.

In the recent past, the Honda RC213V has created a bit of a negative image in the MotoGP paddock, and rightly so. No other rider has managed to contend on it except for Marc Marquez and 2022 is rounding up to be Honda’s worst MotoGP performance in 40 long years for this very reason.

Marc’s younger brother Alex even went on to say he’d rather take a sabbatical than race another year on the RC213V. In addition, whatever changes the company made to the motorcycle this year haven’t gone to plan, as even Honda’s top rider was nowhere near winning speed before he exited for surgery.

So Mir is setting sail on a sinking ship here, and if Honda doesn’t “fix” the bike, it could all go wrong for the Spaniard. To counter this, Mir is still quite young and we believe he could very well be the perfect ally for Honda in developing a better motorcycle. His knowledge of the Suzuki GSX-RR - often called one of the best handling motorcycles - will also come in handy here.

All in all, Mir’s move to HRC will be a talking point next year and we hope he hits the ground running in the Valencia test. Currently, Joan is undergoing his worst year in MotoGP, having suffered six DNFs while also hurting his leg in the recent horrific crash at the Red Bull Ring. So it’s safe to say both Joan and HRC would hope to turn their luck in the next two years.

#Moto #Racing #Bike #Honda