Mir loses podium to Ducati 'rockets' but can smile again

Reigning MotoGP champion Joan Mir wanted to 'destroy everything' after being left just tenth on the grid for the Qatar season opener, as a difficult start to 2021 continued.

But setting changes meant the Suzuki star was finally able to 'get the feelings back' for the race, helping him charge through the pack and pass Johann Zarco for second place on the final lap.

However, the contest was far from over and Mir saw a podium finish vapourised by the Ducati 'rockets' of both Zarco and long-time race leader Francesco Bagnaia as they blasted past him on the run to the finish line.

"It was a difficult weekend, because I was not able to have a good feeling, you could see on my face every session, I'm not really good at hiding these things. But at the end we found a way. A bit late, but we found it, and that's important," Mir said,

"Normally it's part of my character, when everything is right, I am really relaxed. But when something is not working and we are not able to find the correct things, and I try harder and harder and harder, I get so angry.

"Sometimes, in these difficult moments you have to control yourself, because it's what my parents teach me.

"Yesterday after the qualifying, I wanted to break and destroy everything, but I know that is not the correct thing to do, because the only thing that the team wants is to make everything better. They are not to blame. So it's important to control yourself in this moment.

"But now I can smile! Even if two Ducatis overtook me on the last straight!

"I felt good. I get the feelings back a bit late, but finally we get it. This is the most important thing of this race," Mir continued. "I know that here the tyre drop is quite big, and I tried to manage as much as I could. So it was positive overall. I'm happy, and now we have another chance next weekend.

"Fourth place is not the result I always expect or want. But - and it's something that I showed on the last lap - I didn't want to settle for the third position, I want the best result possible, because as many points I can collect now, it's better."

Mir explained that had he been prepared to settle for third place, between the Ducatis, he could have used Zarco's slipstream to defend against Bagnaia on the run to the line.

"The ideal thing was to not try to overtake Zarco and to have a slipstream on the straight and to try to defend third position," he said. "But it's the start of the season and we have to take a bit of risk, and I overtook Zarco in the last sector, and I said if I finish second it will be great, but I know that I have two angry Ducatis behind, and it will be hard.

"I saw the finish line really close and then both rockets overtook me.

"I was a bit surprised because I expected one Ducati not two. But Pecco was always there, and the Ducati is unbelievably fast on the straight, and also both riders are riding in a really good way.

"So for sure their bike is an animal, but also the riders did an unbelievable job to manage this power. So it's not only the bike.

"It was bit frustrating but I gave 100% and next time I know what I have to do."

Mir also ran wide into the final corner, but felt it hadn't made much difference and if anything the 'slingshot' effect of squaring off the corner should have given him more top speed on the straight.

"It's true that I went a bit wide, but normally if you go wide and nobody overtakes you, then you can get more speed at the end," he said. "Because you stop the bike and you go wide and then you come back with more speed. It was not enough, but our bike today worked so well, and I would like to thank Suzuki for this."

The key to reviving Mir's form had been to regain his renowned braking strengths, which also helped corner better.

"I was again riding in a good way, I was again stopping the bike in a good way, I was turning great and clean, not like all the weekend," Mir said.

"We found a way, because in the test you try a lot of things and maybe you get a bit lost in some parts. For some reason, I was not able to stop the bike, I had a lot of problems yesterday, in qualifying it was so difficult, I was pushing like an animal and the lap time was impossible, was never coming. So it was so frustrating and I was so angry.

"We found last night a setting that we used last year. We changed something that I cannot say, and everything came back."

Knee supports had also helped him in the braking zone.

"This [knee supports] is also something that helps me, because in the braking area, I like a lot to use the power of the legs. Normally I ride the bike a lot with the legs. I don't ride a lot with the upper body.

"And in this way, if you see the tank cover of the Suzuki, it's completely flat, so when you brake the knees go forward, and this is something that I never like, it's so uncomfortable.

"With this, it's more the natural shape of all fuel tanks. So it's a little bit the solution to work more with the legs."

Despite his starting position, and the last-gasp double Ducati attack, Mir crossed the finish line just 1.2s from Yamaha's Maverick Vinales and victory. Last year, Mir failed to even score a point after crashing out of the opening Jerez round.

Team-mate Alex Rins finished Sunday's race in sixth place.