As with other Honda riders in recent MotoGP races, the Dutch Grand Prix at Assen ended in the gravel for Joan Mir. Faced with the RC213V’s persistent flaws, Mir has been crashing more and more often as he tries to compensate for his bike’s weaknesses.
On the starting grid of the Dutch Grand Prix, Joan Mir was 20th, just behind his famous colleague Johann Zarco. During the Sprint race, he managed to position himself as the best driver Honda with a 14th place. On Sunday, the Spaniard looked set to pick up valuable points for Repsol Honda. However, on lap 6, when he was in 15th place and was the best Honda rider at the time, Mir dropped.
« At the start I had made some progress and was with the group fighting for the top ten.
I was happy with my speed and the gap with the drivers behindand my feeling improved with each lap” said Mir. He explained that in sector 1 he was trying to make up for time lost in other parts of the track.
Mir described his accident as atypical: “ When I accelerated into Turn 3, I was maybe leaning a degree too much, which is why I slid on the front wheel. It was unpredictable in this form. During the race, I followed Bezzecchi, Quartararo and a few others and I got a little away from our pursuers. The bike was difficult to ride due to full tankthat’s why I didn’t feel 100% comfortable at the beginning. But the feeling improved and my lap times improved. »
Joan Mir: « I’m a rider who will always try to do more and sometimes that means we fall »
Unfortunately, his optimism cost him dearly: “ I then tried to take a little more advantage of sector 1 of the route. There, I gained the time that I often lost on the rest of the lap, but this time I slipped on the front wheel. It happened to us several times. I am a rider who will always try to do more and sometimes that means we crash. It ended our race. »
Mir also highlighted the RC213V’s general issues, including cornering balance: ” normally the balance shifts more towards the rear tire when accelerating. That is why you should not fall on the front wheel in these situations. You actually get drops like this when you release the front brake. We need to analyze this because the bike is very difficult in these situations. »
He ruled out changes in rear wheel grip as a probable cause: ” we have no grip, so that shouldn’t be our problem. ” According to
Mir, the current geometry of the bike is probably the main cause.
Without significant development, the drivers
Honda must compensate by taking more risks. We are running with the same package as in previous races and we are actually fast. But the rest of the field improved a lot.. For us, it’s amazing how much they can accelerate out of corners. This makes me angry! ” he concludes.
MotoGP, Assen: Dutch Grand Prix standings:
: “it’s incredible how much others can accelerate out of corners. It makes me angry!”){kind=link}