Joan Mir has put his Ecstar Suzuki on the podium three times so far in MotoGP and with confidence on a high believes his run for the 2020 title can begin now.
The young Spaniard came through from 11th to second at the second Misano round on Sunday and only a weekend before, he started eighth and finished third - which begs the questions that if he had a bike that was also able to bag in that one fast lap, what could he do from the front row?
Mir is now four point off series leader Andrea Dovizioso in fourth place having outscored everyone above in him the table. In the last four races, Mir has gathered 69 points, Dovizioso has take 53 while Vinales has bagged 41 and Quartararo clawed in a shocking 24. So The first Red Bull Ring visit was where it started to come good...
“After Austria, I was really competitive there, I made the podium. It was like overconfidence you get when you get your first podium," said Mir.
"So, if I was able to do one podium, why can’t I repeat it? That’s what we are doing, it’s really difficult to maintain this consistency, but it’s our goal for all the races.
“We are really constant. My impression is the Suzuki is a bike that is really well balance and more or less is working everywhere. Especially in the last two tracks I felt better with the bike, also I make one click in my mind after the first podium unconsciously. And this is what is making me be fighting for the podium in every race.
So, let’s continue like this. It’s true that in the last four races we got three podiums, but it was only two different tracks. Let’s see in Barcelona if we can get another one, or even fight for the victory.
“I feel that I’m fighting for the championship,” he added. “Honestly, I’m not looking at the championship because there remains a lot of points to score. But it’s true that we are halfway and looks like the season starts here because all the top four riders we are mostly with the same points.
“So, it looks like the championship starts here now. Let’s see if we can keep that consistency to the last race.”
