MotoGP, Joan Mir: “The favorite for the title is not me, but Marc Marquez”

Smiling and calm, Joan Mir enjoys his new world champion status as he waits to hit the track for the new season and defend the number 1 on the fairing. The title he won with Suzuki changed his life, but his feet stay firmly on the ground and he doesn’t want to get cocky. Indeed, humility seems to be one of his strengths.

Joan, what’s it like to be a world champion?

“Now when I go to a restaurant there is always someone who recognizes me and asks me for a photo, even in Andorra where people usually leave you alone. I can’t imagine what would happen if I did on Mallorca would be (laughs) From this point of view, my life has changed, otherwise I’m still the same. “

They’ll start out as a favorite for the title though …

“I don’t think that’s the case, I guess I’ll be the man to beat but the favorite will be Marc Marquez. “

“I won the title thanks to intelligence and consistency, not speed.”

Why?

“I didn’t win the championship for my speed, but thanks to my intelligence and consistency. I know I have room for improvement even if I have good tools on paper to defend myself. If I manage to win the title again this year I’ll be the favorite, but right now I’m not worried about the championship, the goal is to improve. I have to start taking pole positions, winning more races, I already have consistency “.

Marquez will be back after a long hiatus, don’t you think he’ll need time to get back to his level?

“I say that Marc is the favorite when he’s 100% because he has more experience, more speed and more titles than me. If we were to talk about another driver I wouldn’t think he could win in race one, but if Marquez did I wouldn’t be surprised. “

Who do you see as your most dangerous rival besides Marquez?

“Nobody, if we take Marc with us, I’m the favorite”.

What about your teammate Rins? Could he be faster this year?

“Alex was already strong last season, he had an injury at the start, but then he was always competitive, he fought in every race. We all made mistakes, falls and injuries are part of our job and we have to deal with them better . ” Rins will be competitive, but no more than last season because he was already quick. “

Sahara, the project leader, said the goal is to win all three titles: drivers, teams and manufacturers.

“I’m very happy to hear him say that, it means they are pushing hard. It’s difficult to win every year, however With this mentality, we can safely repeat what we’ve done. “

“The pressure is positive. When I feel it, it means I am 100%.”

Don’t you feel the pressure

“I felt it last year and this one will come too, but it doesn’t affect me negatively. If I can feel it from the first race, it means that I am 100%. You have to take it positively. “

Did you learn that in Moto3?

“Thanks to the results in Moto3, I’m in MotoGP. In Moto2, I was in a hurry, but I didn’t have a great season. Moto3 was an important step in my career. The experience I gained from winning the first title enabled me to win the second. “

There won’t be a Brivio this year, will that be a problem?

“He called to tell me on my one week vacation, at first I thought he was kidding. A.At first it was a shock, but then I realized that there are people in Suzuki who are able to handle this situation. I know Sahara will do what is best for Suzuki and that’s why I’m not worried. “

The bike won’t change much as engine development is frozen. Is that an advantage?

“We certainly have room to improve our engine. It’s not the fastest, but neither is it the slowest. There are manufacturers who are worse positioned than we are. The GSX-RR is a good bike and if we can improve in other areas we could be more dangerous. I think all bikes will be similar and close to last year. Our strength is to be competitive on every track and I think we will keep that up. “

Where do you want to improve?

“As I said, I want to be faster, I have to improve the bike and rider package. If I’ve never started in the front row, it’s not my fault or Suzuki’s, it’s a combination of things. IImproving in qualifying is a goal, just like in the early stages of the race. “

“Which number will I use? I won on # 36, but # 1 is the only one you can’t choose.”

How do you train Rins has adapted his GSX-R …

“The truth is, I don’t like showing too much on social media what I do in training. I also have a GSX-R and it’s very nice, trust me! (laughs) I don’t think road cycling is the best workout possible, but I do use it every now and then. “

Have you decided if you are going to use the number 1 in the races?

“I still have some doubts, I’ll tell you on the 12th (laughs). The # 36 won my two titles, but I can use it whenever I want … you can’t choose the # 1 … “