Joan Mir might be the most forgotten MotoGP world champion of the modern era. The title he won in 2020 with Suzuki often gets overshadowed by Marc Marquez's dominance and the success of factory riders. Yet, Mir's journey to the top was never easy: he won Moto3 in his second season, spent just one year in Moto2 before moving to MotoGP, and then became world champion with a small factory team in just two years.
But that glory is now a distant memory. Joan Mir is facing a harsh reality with Honda as they struggle. After Suzuki pulled out of MotoGP in 2022, Mir joined the Japanese factory team just as their performance hit rock bottom in the modern four-stroke era. The 2023 and 2024 seasons were a nightmare, with a string of injuries and poor results that often left him failing to finish.
2025 offered a glimmer of hope with two third-place finishes in Japan and Malaysia. Unfortunately, Honda's progress did not continue into 2026. The Japanese manufacturer is now fully focused on the 850cc project for 2027, leaving Mir lost in a difficult transition. After the British Grand Prix, he sits 18th in the standings with 29 points, five behind Johann Zarco, who hasn't raced since a horrific crash in Catalunya.
“I think we started the season with higher expectations, and the test at Sepang was very good,” Mir told Crash at the British GP. “The first races were not bad, but I couldn't finish because I was probably too optimistic. I wanted to start the year the same way I finished; I wanted that too badly. That made me risk more than I should, and there were a lot of crashes. It was a lack of management on my part.”
Indeed, Mir's failure rate is alarming. Of the 68 races he's started with Honda since 2023, he's failed to see the chequered flag 40 times. Not all are his fault, but enough are to make this a concerning trend. A tyre pressure penalty in Barcelona denied him a second-place finish and 20 points, while crashes in Thailand and Brazil cost potential top-five and top-six results.
Despite everything, one thing Mir cannot be accused of is lack of effort. He keeps fighting despite the uncompetitive machine. “I think we started with high expectations, but we don't have momentum,” he added. “Now we have to see how we can improve.”
With Honda's focus shifting to the future, Mir may have to accept that 2026 will be a test of patience. But as a true champion, he won't give up easily.
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