The reigning world champion finished the San Marino Grand Prix in Misano on Sunday in sixth place after being downgraded on the last lap for exceeding the track limit.
But since Fabio Quartararo finished second on his Yamaha, his lead over third placed Mir has widened to 67 points with four races to go – a bridge, the Suzuki rider now admits, is too far to defend his title.
I admit he rides better in 2021, but leaving the year without the title is “hard to understand” as Suzuki has done very little to develop its GSX-RR from 2020 onwards.
Nevertheless, Mir sees the final races as an opportunity to better prepare for the 2022 season.
“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 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 think 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 give some information and make some improvements to the bike that we definitely need.
“And I think it’s the smartest way. 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 bit. But I have to have a chance to win this race.
“Today I honestly had fun. On the last lap it was like fighting for more than fourth place. So, I had fun with Marc [Marquez] and with Jack [Miller]. “
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I say he has already spoken to Suzuki to make sure the 2022 title fee gets underway from the opening round of the campaign next year and has already seen “a reaction” from the team.
“It was a point of the season that we talked about it and they immediately saw that I had an immediate reaction,” he added.
“Of course as a driver you always try to achieve more, but now I can’t complain about the work they do because I think they do everything to bring about good things.
“Okay, I’m disappointed because if we had started differently in the first race with a different situation, I’m now sure that we would be in a different situation.
“But this is a team, we learn from our mistakes and now I am sure that we are going in the same direction.
“I made sure of that a few months ago and now I know they work hard.”