Joan Mir can’t hide his frustration and maybe a little anger. The reigning champion with Suzuki paid the price for a disappointing qualifying and did nothing to improve the race result on the Misano track finish sixth. The Spaniard, four races before the end of the championship, sees his closest rivals in the overall standings further away and his dream of defending his title seems to be fading more and more. What remains is a not particularly exciting battle for second place in the table against Bagnaia (Ducati), who seems to have an advantage over the last few races.
“I’m not going to lie, I’m disappointed,” said the Mallorcan rider. “I expected a lot more at the beginning, but couldn’t overtake. We made the wrong choice with the front, and it was like trying to survive in this race. It was a lot different from what I expected because I wanted to attack and I kind of defended. It wasn’t a good feeling. But I’ll try to improve the bike in the test, which is important to us, and then try to give it more potential in the final races. I wasn’t where I want to be. Races are like that and I hope to get better in the future. “
Do you think your championship ended with today’s race or did you start thinking about it in previous races?
“The thing is, we couldn’t afford to make mistakes and I didn’t make any mistakes, but we just couldn’t be as competitive as everyone expected. That’s why I’m disappointed because I expected more. It’s hard to assume the championship is over and the day I can’t fight for a championship I’ll give up. I won’t wait a year. I am here for this reason. But this time it is so. It’s a difficult day for me. “
You spoke of choosing the wrong tires up front …
“Normally the Suzuki can’t make good use of the hard front tire, so now we’re trying to make the most of it because I’m not happy with the medium. When we saw in practice that the track temperature didn’t allow the use of the hard compound , We chose the Medium, which was fine for Rins, but in the end it doesn’t fit my driving style, we’re different drivers and I ask for more from the front. So in the race I immediately noticed that this extra boost came through better tire wear would have come too late in the second half of the race and the lead of the leading group was now too big. At the end of the race I was fighting for fourth place between Marquez’s Honda and Miller’s Ducati, but a pass on the green and my mistake put me in sixth place. But until then I was there to have fun, it would have made no difference to finish fourth or sixth, I know I gave one hundred percent in this race too, but once again it was not enough. “
If the title seems out of reach now, what does that mean for the final races of the season? Are you going to change your driving style and maybe take more risks?
“The risk is always the same. I always risk what I have to risk. I always do maneuvers. Check my races – I don’t have to say I don’t take any chances. Now, if I have the opportunity to win a few races and do a few maneuvers and all that stuff at the end of a race, then of course I don’t care if I get a zero. So it changes everything a little. But I have to have the chance to win this race. “
Will we see something in the next tests that can also help you with the next season in the final races?
“We don’t know exactly what we’re going to work on yet, we will certainly improve the device again, but braking also needs an evolution in order to be more competitive.”
So the next races will be a big test with a view to the next World Championship to avoid this year’s problems?
“I’m a little angry because I know my potential this year and I’m angry because I drive better, make fewer mistakes, am a better driver and I won’t win the championship. It is difficult to understand. But what also makes me happy is that Suzuki is going in the same direction. We all see what happens and I believe they are pushing as hard as possible. We can think that the next races are like pre-season, as each race is an opportunity to provide some information and make some improvements to the bike that we definitely need. “