Joan Mir confident of Honda MotoGP “direction” but sees one key area to improve

New parts tried by Honda’s factory riders at the Valencia MotoGP test can mark the direction for the future, says Joan Mir.

Mir ended the Valencia test 12th-fastest, but less than half-a-second behind the fastest time by Raul Fernandez at the top of the tree.

The Honda HRC Castrol rider said there were not many new things to try in Valencia, just some pieces that Aleix Espargaro used during his wildcard appearance last weekend (14–16 November), but that this is to be expected after a season of continuous evolution.

“When you have a year such as this one that they worked so hard to provide us as soon as possible material, it’s difficult to arrive here in Valencia with plenty of things to try,” Joan Mir explained after the test.

“It’s a little bit what happened. 

“Aleix [Espargaro] tried something during the weekend, we tried it today. We saw that there’s some positives, some negatives as always, but the direction can be that one.”

Mir added that HRC’s target at this stage is to continue developing the RC213V in time for the Sepang test, after which development will likely be scaled back as the 2027 850cc project takes a greater priority.

“They are working hard because then they have more tests during this month and next month, so the evolution continues to provide us the best package in Sepang, not here,” Mir said.

“So, it’s not like the old days with the ‘New Honda’. The concept this year has changed a bit, but I think it’s because the actual package that we have is working, is competitive.”

If there is one area in particular that Mir would like an evolution in Sepang it is regarding aerodynamics, something Johann Zarco indicated after the test that he thinks is required as well.

“We just need to make a next step in terms of aero,” said Mir.

“You check Aprilia, KTM, Ducati, they are a bit in front of us in this case. 

“So, they are working on it. Today we didn’t try, nothing to improve that area, but we will try in the future, so I have trust and plenty of confidence.”

Marini: “Easy to make confusion”

The test itself was subject to a revised schedule after a couple of hours, as a red flag was thrown in the morning to try to dry the track up after no timed laps were set for most of the morning, the surface remaining damp and patchy after overnight rain.

Mir’s Honda HRC teammate Luca Marini explained that this made the test more complicated because the time to evaluate parts became smaller.

“I think it was a really busy day,” the Italian said. “We tried many things in a really short time, so easy to make confusion, sincerely. 

“It was difficult to be focused every moment because you try something, box, try something else for two laps, box. Difficult to make also back-to-back because there was no time with the track conditions. 

“Now I want to spend a little bit more time in the meeting with the engineers and also with Joan [Mir] to make a very good summary and share again our feedback and opinions to what we need to ask for Sepang; and also what we can decide in Sepang, or what we need to evaluate today.”

Marini could not be specific about many of the things he tested, but said there were new electronics to try and that he feels a step forward was made in general.

“No,” he responded when asked if he could say what he tested in Valencia.

“Many things. Also on the electronics side. 

“I think we made a good step forward everywhere. The bike is slightly improved but it’s also difficult to say this well because the track condition is always difficult, the tyres are always magical and we need to be careful and try everything well in Sepang when we will have more time.”