Team Suzuki Press Office – October 23.
Joan Mir looks back on last weekend’s Aragon GP where he raced to third place and took over the MotoGP Championship.
“So everyone is telling me that I’m the new MotoGP World Championship leader!
Of course it’s a nice thing, but it’s not something I really put a lot of thought into at the moment. I don’t really care what the standings say at the moment and that’s because of the way I approach the races; I’m just focused on performing well race by race, my main goal is to get the best possible result every weekend.
“I was feeling very strong – like I could win the race – and in a way it was disappointing to only take the third spot on the podium. From the beginning of the weekend I felt so good on the bike, and my pace was also consistent which gave me confidence. As you know, my strong point is usually towards the end of the race, and I was already into third place quite early on. For a while I thought it would be sensible to save rubber behind Maverick, and after overtaking him, I started to chase after Alex. But after a few laps I realised I was losing the feeling in the front end of the bike. I was surprised because we did a lot of laps with the same tyre during practice, but during the race the track temperature was a bit higher. Choosing the soft front tyre maybe wasn’t the best idea after all, I’m not sure now but I think that could be the key for next race, so we will work more with the medium tyre if the temperature allows.
“That’s why I’m very happy; every race we improve, every race I gain experience. Now we are starting to show our potential, which allows us to be on the podium even when things aren’t going perfectly. Let’s see if we can take the lessons from the first Aragon race and implement them for the next round! I really like the track and it’s nice to stay here for another week.
“Despite feeling that I could’ve got an even better result on Sunday, I’m still really satisfied. It was great to have two Suzukis on the podium again, for the second time this year, and Alex was very happy with his victory. And as well as me leading the Riders’ Championship, together we are leading the Teams’ Championship, which is a special feeling and it means we are doing things well. It’s very important to be on the podium even when the race isn’t going as expected, that’s the biggest goal.
“The calendar is completely different this year and the temperatures in this part of the season are lower than usual, and this makes everything harder for us riders and it’s sometimes tricky to get the right feeling, but we’re pleased with how we’re managing everything.
I will try to fight for the victory this weekend, and if it’s not possible just taking the points is also a good result.
Thanks for all your messages of support; it’s really nice to read them!
See you soon!”
