until Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League
Suzuki rider Joan Mir says he cannot be seen as the favourite for the 2020 MotoGP title because he’s yet to win a race in the premier class.
Five top-five finishes in the seven races of his sophomore campaign so far – compared to one all throughout his rookie year – mean Mir sits just four points off championship leader Andrea Dovizioso at the halfway point of the season.
This reflects the topsy-turvy nature of the 2020 title fight in reigning champion Marc Marquez’s absence, but while Mir has been comfortably the top scorer in MotoGP across the two double-headers at the Red Bull Ring and Misano, his campaign has not been spotless either.
He crashed in the season opener in Jerez, and was taken down by Iker Lecuona’s fall at Brno.
However, with the GSX-RR bike having looked handy at all types of venues – including the Red Bull Ring, which it was expected to struggle at but where Mir would’ve won if not for a red flag interruption – the sophomore rider has emerged as arguably the most credible title contender among MotoGP’s leading four riders separated by four points.
But when asked about possibly being the favourite for the 2020 title, Mir said ahead of the Barcelona race: “Honestly, I don’t feel actually as a contender for the title at the moment because I haven’t won any races.
“I’m fully focused to win my first race, to start to win races, I think to win a championship you have to win races.
“I think it’s important first of all to win a couple of races and then to think about the championship.
“It’s true that our consistency is so high and this is really good, but I miss some victories.”
Mir won the Moto3 title back in 2017, in a campaign that featured a Moto3 record 10 wins, but hasn’t stood on the top step of the podium since, having spent just a single year in the intermediate class before being promoted by Suzuki.
A win-less motorcycle grand prix racing title is a rarity but would not be unprecedented, with Marquez’s manager Emilio Alzamora having accomplished the feat in the lightweight 125cc class back in 1999 – taking the crown by one point over Marco Melandri.
Fabio Quartararo – who is one point behind Dovizioso, level with Yamaha stablemate Maverick Vinales and three ahead of Mir – described the GSX-RR as the “perfect bike” at Misano.
Mir refuted that claim, and while he acknowledges the 2020 Suzuki is an all-rounder, he says it too has its weaknesses and believes it to be “quite similar” to the Yamaha M1.
“In the last race, I was able to study a little bit the Yamaha of Fabio, also Pol [Espargaro on the KTM] and a couple of [other] bikes, because every one of us was really close on race pace,” Mir said.
“And in that point you can see in what areas you’re better, in what not. And I could see at the end of the race the lines Fabio was doing were really similar to mine, and looks like the Yamaha and the Suzuki are quite similar, and then I was able to see also the KTM, completely different lines, braking a bit probably harder and was a different line, more like the Ducati.
“In Misano I was able to see a little bit more these bikes, but I think we have a great package – we have some points that the bike is not working well, like everyone for sure has problems that the bike is struggling in some areas, but we have a bike that is really balanced at the moment.”
