Why Honda's biggest critic was smiling after first…

Joan Mir is so used to highlighting the flaws of Honda’s MotoGP bike that it was a shock to see him singing praises for its 2025 prototype in Sepang.

Just three months prior, Mir had expressed his anger over Honda failing to bring any new parts to experiment with in the Barcelona test. It followed a disastrous season in which he was outscored by Johann Zarco on the satellite LCR bike, and was unable to exploit the late-season upgrades from the Japanese manufacturer.

Some people had even questioned why Mir and Honda had agreed to a new deal when the first two years of their partnership had been nothing short of a disaster.

However, if Wednesday’s running was any indication, Mir is set for a much better campaign in MotoGP with Honda this time around.

The 2020 champion explained that he was able to see tangible improvements on the handling of the bike during the opening day of pre-season testing in Malaysia, as he finished sixth-fastest with a time that was just 0.560s slower than Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo in first.

But more than anything, Mir enjoyed riding a MotoGP bike again, having said in early 2024 that he was unsure “how long his body can take” the toll of Honda’s struggles.

“The feeling was good because every [corner] exit I was improving,” he explained. “We ended the day being quite fast with used tyres and also with new tyres.

“I'm happy because we more or less understood the line that we want to continue to do during this test.

“We found more or less the set-up and the geometry that allowed me to ride in the way that I [like to] ride - a way that I was not able to ride last season, especially the second part of the season. And now Honda brings a package that allows me to do it.

“I was happy in every exit, I was smiling because I was enjoying [on the bike].”

Joan Mir, Honda HRC (Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images)

However, at the same time, Mir is aware that Honda still hasn’t cured all weaknesses of the RC213V, with the 27-year-old identifying grip and straight line speed as two areas where it still needs to improve.

“Our bike is not fast on the straight, it's not fast at all, we are the slowest,” he revealed. “But for sure if we improve on the straight and here [in Sepang] there are two straights. I'm sure we don't lose less than three or four tenths in those two straights.

“That means that we can get closer, seriously closer because we improved on the braking area, I was able to brake how I know, I was able to turn.

“I was still having vibrations but for some reason I was able to manage it. They work hard on it and it honestly pays off.”

The Sepang test continues on Thursday and Friday, while another two days of running is scheduled in Buriram next week before the start of the 2025 season.

Having already made tangible improvements on braking and cornering, Mir thinks Honda can focus on top-speed and grip in the remainder of testing.

“The grip is still something where we need one step, that we need to improve - and the top speed,” he said. “In the next two days we will focus on that.

“Tomorrow we will try. I'm not sure but during these days we should try different engine configurations, the idea is to work on it on the power. So let's see if we can make a step or we try it on the next test. We have to see.”