Why Honda's biggest critic was smiling after first day of MotoGP testing
It's surprising to see him offering so much praise for Honda's 2025 prototype at Sepang, given how much he has usually criticized its MotoGP bike.
Riding the satellite La Vau Deutschland's bike, and was not able to make use of the late-season upgrades from the Japanese manufacturer.
A number of people had questioned why Mir and Honda had agreed to a new contract when the first two years of their partnership had been extremely disappointing situations.
However, if Wednesday's performance was any indication, Mir is poised for a significantly improved campaign in MotoGP with Honda this time around.
in first.
Mir seemed to enjoy riding a MotoGP bike especially, as he had mentioned earlier, in early 2024, that he was uncertain "for how long his body could endure" the effects of Honda's struggles.
“The feeling was good because every corner exit I was improving,” he explained. “We ended the day being quite fast with worn tyres and also with new tyres.”
Joan Mir, Honda HRC
No content to paraphrase.
I'm pleased that we generally have a clear understanding of the direction we'd like to take with this test.
We were able to find a setup and geometry that allowed me to ride as I like - a style I wasn't able to ride last season, particularly in the second half of the season. Now Honda is providing a new package that will allow me to do so.
I was thrilled at every exit, I was beaming because I was thoroughly enjoying myself on the bike.
However, at the same time, Mir recognizes that Honda still hasn't fully addressed all the weaknesses of the RC213V, with the 27-year-old pinpointing grip and straight-line speed as two areas where it still requires improvement.
“Our bike isn't very fast on the straight line, to be honest, we are the slowest,” he said. “However, we can improve our performance on the straight sections and Sepang circuit has two long straights. I'm certain we won't drop more than three or four tenths of a second in those two stretches.”
“That means we can get a lot closer, seriously closer because we made great improvements in braking, I was able to brake in a way I'm familiar with, I was able to turn effectively.”
Joan Mir, Honda HRC
Photograph by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
I was still experiencing some lingering effects, but somehow I was able to cope with them. The developers put in a lot of effort to address the issue, and it ultimately yielded positive results.
The Sepang test will proceed on Thursday and Friday, with more sessions scheduled in Buriram next week before the 2025 season commences.
With significant advances already made in braking and cornering, Mir believes Honda can now concentrate on optimising top speed and grip during the remainder of the testing period.
The grip is still an area where we need to make one step forward, and we need to improve it - and the top speed," he said. "In the next two days we will focus on that.
“Tomorrow we'll give it a shot. I'm hesitant, but in the coming days, we should experiment with different engine combinations. The goal is to boost performance. Let's see if we can make some progress or try again during the next test. We'll assess the situation.”
Read Also: MotoGP champion Joan Mir was taken to the hospital after a crash during a test session at Sepang. Fabio Quartararo sets the fastest time on the first day of the Sepang MotoGP test, while Jorge Martin suffers a crash. Rider Martin hospitalized after massive crash in MotoGP test at Sepang circuit.