The 2020 MotoGP champion Joan Mir believes it is only mistakes that can deprive Marc Marquez of this year’s title after an unbeaten start to the season.
Marquez has won all four races - two sprints and two grands prix - in 2025 from pole, marking the perfect start to life as a factory Ducati rider.
He already holds a 16-point advantage in the championship and victory this year would put Marquez alongside legend Valentino Rossi on seven series titles.
But Friday practice ahead of this weekend’s Americas Grand Prix was not ideal for Marquez, who crashed at Turn 2 in Austin during a wet opening session.
“Marc is dominating,” said Mir, who was his Honda team-mate in 2023. “I think the only one who can lose this title is him, because he has everything to win.
“He has the experience, the speed and the best bike. Marc knows perfectly well where the limits are, that has been given to him by experience. I think this year he won’t have many problems in taking the title, if he doesn’t look for them.”
It has also been an encouraging start to the year for Mir, whose 10 points from the opening two rounds shows that backmarker Honda is finally closing the gap on its rivals.
That was again evident at Circuit of the Americas on Friday, as Mir snuck into the top 10 to earn a direct pass to Saturday’s second qualifying session.
“The goal has been achieved,” added Mir. “It was a very complicated day, which demanded to be fast at all times and in all circumstances and I was able to be.
“You’re not fast in all those conditions if you don’t feel good on the bike, this is something else. It’s the most confident moment since I've been racing with Honda.”
