Reigning MotoGP world champion Joan Mir has admitted that his chance of defending the crown in 2021 is now over, after a disappointing day at the San Marino Grand Prix.
The Suzuki rider was unable to come home any better than sixth as title rivals Pecco Bagnaia and Fabio Quartararo finished first and second respectively.
The writing has been on the wall for Mir for some time thanks to a rather lacklustre start to the season and something of a technical slump from Suzuki – whose 2020 position as one of the most rounded packages on the grid has been negated by other teams’ rapid development.
However, the final straw for Mir in Sunday’s race at Misano wasn’t any issue with the bike, but instead a mistake by him and his team in tyre selection at a stage in the championship fight where he admitted afterwards that mistakes were simply not possible.
“I won’t lie, I’m disappointed,” he admitted.
“I expected much more at the beginning, but I wasn’t able to overtake.
“We took the wrong choice with the front, and it was like trying to survive in this race.
“It was much more different than what I expected, because I wanted to go and attack, and somehow I was defending.
“It wasn’t good feelings. But I will try to improve the bike in the test, which is important for us, and then try to give the last races more potential.
“I wasn’t where I want to be. Races are like this, and I hope to be better in the future.”
With the gap to championship leader Quartararo now a significant 67 points with only 100 left to play for in the remaining four races of the year, Mir says his hopes of retaining his status as champion for another year are gone.
“It’s like this,” said the forlorn rider when questioned whether his title defence aspirations were done. “The thing is that we couldn’t afford to make any mistakes, and it’s not that I made any mistakes but we just couldn’t be as competitive as everyone expected. That’s why I’m disappointed, because I expected more.
“It’s difficult to assume that the championship is over, and the day that I’m not able to fight for a championship I will retire. I won’t wait one year. I’m here for that reason. But this time it’s like this. It’s a difficult day for me.”
With that in mind, however, he was quick to focus on the one positive to take from the fact that he’s got less pressure on his shoulders for the remaining four races: with no chance of the title, he can take more chances to increase his number of victories.
Still, incredibly, only a one-time MotoGP race winner despite being the world champion, he’s got good chances at all four remaining venues for the year – and says that the lack of pressure means he can be even more aggressive than he normally is.
“The risk is always the same,” Mir explained what asked about that stance by The Race, “I’m always risking what I have to risk. I always make manoeuvres. Check my races – I don’t have to say that I don’t take risks!
“The only thing that will change now is that if I have an opportunity to win, I can make some mistakes now. That is what has changed.
“It’s also important for me, because I will be able to do some manoeuvres – not with my riding, not to go over my limit, because that’s not the way to go fast nowadays.
“Of course you know how to go fast, where to put the wheel, and you don’t risk so much, even if we do risk a little on the braking. But not more than normal, because if you do you go wide.
“But in the manoeuvres, it will change something.”
