2020 Champion Joan Mir is remaining calm and focused on his future after news broke that Suzuki seeks to exit MotoGP at the close of 2022.
Mir sits sixth in the current standings, just 13 points behind Ecstar teammate Alex Rins and 33 off reigning champion and series leader Fabio Quartararo after six races, with just one DNF spoiling his consistent top-six form so far this year.
“Is a situation that nobody wants to hear about, because we’ve been working for a long time in this project,” Mir said of the news from Japan. “A lot of people, a lot more time than me! We gave everything for this brand and then finally we have to part ways for the next season. So is difficult, not for me also for the team.
“I think a lot of them because is difficult to put now all these people inside different teams, or I don’t know what will be the solution but it’s not an easy one,” he said of his colleagues inside the Ecstar garage.
“As a rider, the only thing that I can do is to finish the season in the best way for my team. Because they don’t deserve this. We don’t deserve this.
“So we just have to finish the season in the best way to say goodbye in the best way possible.
“I’m calm,” he continued, focusing on his future. “I think that my manager will do a good job in this way and soon I think that we will have news about it. I don’t know when and everything but for sure from now on, or from Jerez on, I was officially on the market. It is not the situation that we expected but, will be like this. So let’s see what we can do.”
While the premier class silly season was already kicking into gear, Mir was previously left out of rumours and speculation, with the Spaniard fully expected to continue at the Hamamatsu factory for another term. Recent news now places him firmly in the mix as one of the hottest prospects, with both HRC and Aprilia tipped to be homing in.
“Before everything happened, we were in negotiations with Suzuki,” he confirmed. “About Honda, nothing is signed. We are officially on the market so for sure my manager will speak with all of them and we will evaluate at the end and we will take the best decision for my future.”
