Mir pushing 'really hard just to have a chance', runs into front tyre issues

Joan Mir laments front tyre issues, riding at the limit just to ‘have a chance’ of fighting for a top five, as his inconsistent 2022 MotoGP campaign continued at Silverstone after suffering yet another crash.
Joan Mir Suzuki MotoGP Silverstone
Joan Mir Suzuki MotoGP Silverstone

The Suzuki rider, like team-mate Alex Rins, made a brilliant start to the British MotoGP as moved into the top ten and set himself up for a very strong result.

And after making his way passed Aleix Espargaro for P7, Mir saw his progress halted behind championship leader Fabio Quartararo. 

Mir did make an attempt at taking sixth position away from the Yamaha rider, but after failing to complete the move, front tyre pressures became a significant problem for the 2020 world champion.   

Mired in the middle of the leading group, Mir lost the front-end of his GSX-RR, a corner that caught out several riders throughout the weekend.

Had Mir not crashed out then it's possible he could have gained further positions, especially as Quartararo began to struggle during the closing stages. However, looking at the performance of his team-mate Rins, the 2019 Silverstone winner also ran into tyre problems during the latter stages despite running the hard rear tyre.  

"I was coming from the back and I was getting closer and closer to the group, but once I was there I was struggling to stop the bike behind three of four riders," Mir told MotoGP.com. 

"I was getting closer to them every time but once I was, I was beginning to have some trouble with the front. I didn’t expect to lose the front in turn seven but these things can happen. 

"I’m quite happy for the pace that we showed during the race. We finished the race quite strong. 

"Let’s take the good information because we were behind the top guys and we could see something interesting for the future to improve our bike." 

Mir on the limit just to ‘have a chance’ of fighting for MotoGP podiums

Joan Mir, MotoGP race, British MotoGP, 7 August
Joan Mir, MotoGP race, British MotoGP, 7 August

One of the most consistent riders since he entered the premier class, Mir has been anything but that as the 2022 season has gone on.

While Suzuki’s announcement that they would be leaving MotoGP at the end of this season hasn’t helped matters, Mir claims his lack of consistency has been due to riding at the limit at all times. 

Asked why his consistency hasn’t been as good as previous years, Mir said: "Well I have to push really hard just to be in the group, to overtake, to have a chance. We didn’t ride in this condition all weekend and the pressures were probably not perfect for us and these things can happen. We don’t have to think so much and just keep working."

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