In MotoGP, even a world champion like Joan Mir is at great risk. Now everything is resolved for the best, maybe…
Year after year the pilot market always start earlier. A trend that has made turn up one’s nose to many, and rightly so. Start negotiating at the beginning of the year, when the world championship has just begun or even has yet to start… In fact, many have not been missing twists with a view to 2023. Like those who stayed without placetwo debutants forced to change totally afterwards only one season in MotoGP, therefore without the possibility of to demonstrate really something. Remy Gardner veered on the Superbike, Darryn Binder went down to Moto2. And then there is Joan Mirtherefore a MotoGP champion, who really risked being left behind…
Surprise Suzuki
A problem created in particular by the Hamamatsu house and its surprise announcement in Jerez. No one expected the sudden goodbye, it was a heartbreaking for all team members, including the riders. Shiny eyes Joan Mir when commenting on what happened speak clearly… A brand that brought it in MotoGP and with which he won his only one world title in the category, the second in his career after the one obtained years earlier in Moto3. Confirmation was then around the corner for both Joan Mir and Alex Rins, all that was missing was to take the pen to sign the contract officially. Livio Suppo, Shinichi Sahara and the rest of the team were by now planning for the future, starting from the double confirmation. Until precisely the announcement from Japan, not without kickbacks at the level of results. While Rins then found a sort of square, Joan Mir has struggled, also thanks to an injury that stopped him for a few GPs. Let’s not talk about the thoughts for hers future.
“Mir destabilized, that’s why”
This was a first reason for difficulty which the 2020 world champion stumbled upon, but not the only one. “The very long negotiations with Honda“ explained Livio Suppo, now ex Suzuki team manager. Indeed there have been too many conflicting voices around this possible agreement: almost done, jumped, stalled, ready to be signed… Let’s not talk about the criticisms rather hard addressed to his manager, by the way the same as Remy Gardner. A situation that really didn’t help Joan Mirwhich indeed saw on the horizon the ghost of thegap year. Or even the end of his career! “He destabilized him, he ran a big risk“ admitted Suppo. In the end everything worked out and Mir will race with Honda. Hoping it’s not a ride from the pan to the grill…
