Despite not seeing a light at the end of the tunnel for Honda’s struggles in MotoGP, Joan Mir has decided to renew his contract with the team until 2026, after various rumors about his potential future.
The 2020 World Champion stated in a press conference that if he were to leave the Japanese team, it would mean failing, to some extent, the project he embarked on last year:
– I think it was the most natural step to do at the moment. In 2023 I came here to Honda with the challenge to reverse a bit the situation that they are having crossing the most difficult moment in history. And, well, somehow these two years were not enough to bring that bike again in a competitive way, so probably if I left, we were failing a bit in the project that we were having.
On the other hand, Mir admitted that it wouldn’t make sense to decide to leave if improvements were starting to be seen: ‘I think everyone in the paddock knows what Honda is capable to do. The thing is when. But if with the upgrades that we will get and the project that they have, at the end of the season we start to see some improvements and at the end of the year I left crossing a difficult moment both personally and professionally in these two years… for me it wouldn’t making a lot of sense. I will be happy if we overcome the situation. It’s nice to have two more years to confirm that we will be back where we deserve’.