Joan Mir’s 5th place in qualifying in Valencia is good news for many reasons Not only because the Spaniard Suzuki does not have his strong point in the running lap, but also because his direct rivals in the standings will all start behind him (except for his teammate Rins) Good news for Joan who has all eyes on him as he leads the world championship
A difficult position on paper, but not for the man who seems to always be able to keep a cool head
« I am the one who has the most to lose because I am ahead in the World Championship, it is normal that it is the case, but you have to learn to stay in this position – he explains – L ‘important is not to think about it too much, because there are still 3 races left and if they go wrong I could end the year in the top 5 Basically, it’s as if I hadn’t done anything yet, I I have to focus only on myself and wait for the last GP to see where I will be ”
« There are 6 of us, you can’t think of the others – he continues – It’s not an easy situation to fight for the title, but it’s our job »
« Nobody can teach you how to handle this situation, there is no manual – he stressed – It’s something you have to feel inside and then improvise There is a lot of fast riders, but not as many mentally strong as I am You can’t train to be that, it’s something connected to your life, when I need to show that mental strength , I can usually It’s like that «
« It seems like I may feel less pressure than my rivals but, let’s be honest, there are types of pressure much worse than that. Like what a lot of people are hearing in recent months in the face of Covid – he says – I am fighting for the MotoGP title, I may or may not win it but it will have been okay anyway Let’s be clear this is a dream that I have been chasing my whole life but there are a lot of people in situations worse than mine «
« I think it was a very different situation, in this case I could lose the title so I had more pressure. Now things are different, if I can’t win this year I ‘will have many years to try again Tomorrow, the only important thing will be the race, not the championship «
On this point, however, Mir has several doubts as he could ride in dry conditions, a condition in which he has not broken in these two days in Valencia
« From a certain point of view it will be a lottery – he said – It’s not just the rider that makes the difference, but also the set-up Sometimes you go out on the track with a set -up and all is well right away, other times you have to work to get the bike to work Of course KTM and Ducati riders will have a big advantage tomorrow as their test riders tested here recently ”
« Each race is more important than the last and the only thing you have to do is get on the podium. If I do this, there might be some of my rivals with me, but not all of them. For the rest, I can only hope to be lucky with the set-up, tonight I’m going to pray ”he concludes with a smile
Motorcycle Grand Prix, Joan Mir, Racing, Team Suzuki Ecstar
News from the world – AU – MotoGP, Mir: « There are a lot of fast riders, but few with my strength mental »
