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Video: Joan Mir and the last train to revalidate the MotoGP World Championship that leaves from an unknown circuit
2024 Author: Nicholas Abramson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-10 16:34
Joan Mir is a silent pilot, one of those who never get too many accounts but when you look at the ranking they are always in the top positions. His title defense seemed destined to be one of the worst in recent memory, but as the final stretch of the season approaches, he has only one driver with more points than him.
As incredible as it may seem, the Silverstone circuit is going to be practically new to him. He has never raced there on a big bike, since the last time he did it was in 2017 in Moto3. He will have to adapt quickly, because his last options to hold on to the World Cup are going through the Great Britain Grand Prix.
Suzuki has a favorable schedule, with recent victories
It is very curious, but it is that the misfortune has been primed with Silverstone in the last seasons. Last year there was no Grand Prix for COVID-19, and in 2018 the races were canceled because of the rain. In 2019, when Mir could have raced, he didn't due to injury, so his only experiences here date back to 2016 and 2017, his years in Moto3.
In his year of devastation in Moto3 Silverstone was one of the few circuits where he failed to get on the podium, something that he did not do in 2016 either. Based on that we could deduce that Joan Mir does not like the English track, or at least the Joan Mir of four years ago, which will have little to do with the current one.
Who does like Silverstone is Suzuki. In fact, it is the second brand that accumulates the most victories on the legendary circuit, and the only one that has been repeated in the last five seasons. Maverick Viñales won in 2016 and Álex Rins in 2019, the last time there was a race at Silverstone. 2021 must be the year of Mir.
The versatile spirit of Silverstone combines very well with the characteristics of the Suzuki, a motorcycle that defends itself better at top speed and acceleration than the Yamaha, the other in-line engine on the grid, which flies in the most twisty area and can speed up braking reliably. Silverstone is a multi-purpose circuit for a multi-purpose motorcycle.
With the calendar in hand, of the seven races remaining there are four that Suzuki should have circled. They are Silverstone, MotorLand, Austin and Valencia, and in all of them you can find recent triumphs of the current champions. They mark the roadmap for the reconquest of Joan Mir.
Mir is tied with Pecco Bagnaia for second place of the general classification, and shows a clearly upward trend. With the only blur of his fall in France in the rain, his season is being quite similar to the one that gave him the title, only this time Fabio Quartararo is standing out. Mir needs victories, plural.
In the doublet of the Red Bull Ring we saw an obvious step up in the rankings, improving the explosiveness on one lap and achieving his best grid results of the year, but it is something that needs to be confirmed now. The Austrian track is Mir's favorite, and in 2020 he already had the best classifications.
In addition, the 'holeshot', which Suzuki has finally been able to debut in this second half of the season, is also giving a boost. Already Mir said when leaving Austria that he had noticed the difference performance from the moment you got on the bike.
If Joan Mir's last season is a surprise, what he is doing in 2021 may establish him as a true MotoGP rider. May leave your title on something more than a fluke, even being runner-up. This is what the greats of history do: win when the opportunity exists, be second when not. Winning honors.
But you need to win. He has to start adding victories to definitively establish himself as one of the greats of MotoGP. And be very careful, because if you start doing it this weekend at Silverstone, you still have time to revalidate your crown. There are 45 points, less than two races, those that separate him from Quartararo.
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