Ex-World Champion Joan Mir talks about the consequences of the announced Suzuki exit – He admits that something has noticeably changed in the team
Suzuki will contest eight more MotoGP races. Then it’s over and the shop will be shut down. Since the team was informed of this decision at the Monday test in Jerez in early May, there have been retirements, injuries and disappointments
Joan Mir’s fourth place in Barcelona was by far the best individual result since then. “It was difficult. “
“After the unexpected news in Jerez, something changed in the team. “
“A little bit of harmony. That’s normal. They didn’t say, ‘Okay Joan, we’re not going to continue next year.’ They’ve said that to everybody. That’s difficult for a lot of people to manage and accept. “
“The atmosphere has certainly changed a bit. Mentally it’s difficult because it’s hard to find the motivation. Before it was super easy. Now it’s more difficult. And then when you have problems with the bike. It’s a bit of everything.”
This year the Suzuki GSX-RR has become faster on the straights. Rins took the only Suzuki podiums in Argentina and the USA. “At the beginning of the season,” Mir starts his explanation, “I said that it takes time to understand the new bike. “
“I also needed to understand how to adjust to the new bike to get the maximum out of it. I expected that to take a few races. But I didn’t expect it to take half the season.”
“So the exit has not made this situation any better. But maybe in the second half of the season we can make that click, which is two tenths.” Because the engineers had to work out a completely new set-up for the bike.
Mir explains, “When you find so much more top speed, you have to adapt everything else so it’s in the correct position. It’s always like that. When you improve something, another aspect gets worse.”
“I’m still convinced it’s the best package we’ve ever had. But we have to work on it. The motivation is that we capture great results. Not just for me, but for the team to celebrate together and enjoy the rest of the season. “
