The 2025 MotoGP season has certainly not been a successful year for Honda's Joan Mir, with crashes once again the main focus of attention rather than his results.
But while it might look at first glance like another tough season for the 2020 world champion, there's an argument to be made that in fact he's finally starting to show a return to form, albeit masked by the difficulties of the current RC213V.
So far from the 12 main event races of the season, Mir has seen the chequered flag in only four of them. He currently sits a very distant 19th in the championship standings, the third of Honda's four riders and ahead only of rookie Somkiat Chantra.
Scoring just 32 points to team-mate Luca Marini's 52 (despite Marini missing three races due to injury), and a long way off LCR satellite rider Johann Zarco's 109, it might seem odd to argue that Mir has had a good year by any stretch of the imagination - but there’s more to the case than just his results, especially in comparison to 2024.
Last year, Mir finished the championship in a similar position, scoring only 21 points in 20 rounds and crashing out of half the races.
But, in those numbers lies a hint at the improvement that's coming: more crashes, but better results and more points scored when he can remain on the bike shows the slow but steady progress he's been making with at least one element of the Honda project.
The bike is, it seems, a better machine this year. Mir's best results - three top 10s from his four finishes - are significant improvements on anything he achieved in 2024, when he failed to break into the top 10 once.
And while he's still crashing out, that's something very much explainable by the twin factors of horsepower and bad luck.
He's quick to explain to the media that a lot of the falls share an explanation: pushing too hard under braking to try to make up for what he's losing in top speed.
Something that Honda is working hard to rectify under the stewardship of new engineering boss Romano Albesiano and something that the poaching of KTM engine boss Kurt Trieb will likely help significant with, it's been a constant issue raised by Mir this year - but is something that isn't just affecting him.
He has, of course, been Honda's headline crasher so far in 2025, with 15 - only two shy at the halfway point of the season from what he managed in the whole of 2024.
Yet he's not alone at the top of the standings, with Zarco so far matching him on 15 of his own - a substantial increase for the Frenchman, who has already matched his total from last season.
That's even more significant when you take into account the incredible bad luck Mir has struggled with in 2025. Eight times a faller from Sunday races, it's worth noting that five of those came through no fault of his own, with crashes or retirements at Brno, the Sachsenring, Assen, Le Mans, and Lusail all due to contact with other riders.
It's fair to say that things aren't quite fixed for Honda just yet, and probably that Mir needs to invest in some four-leaved clovers or horseshoes to try to turn his bad luck around - but look past the headlines, and the signs are there.
How long it takes to actually come good is a question that even he isn't sure of the answer to just yet, though. Honda is working on a new engine configuration that should at least help ease the issues and bring more power, but it's unlikely to arrive before next month's Misano test, and will likely only be a step rather than a leap forward.
However, should Honda make real strides in 2026, then it's clear that the potential - and the passion - remains with Mir to fight at the sharp end again.
