Nothing in Suzuki’s plans and targets ahead of MotoGP 2020 that says: Win the world title! However, Joan Mir came as the Messiah and gave Suzuki the MotoGP world title earlier than originally planned.
When Suzuki won the world title of the Grand Prix primary class through Kenny Roberts Jr. At 500cc 2000, Mir was still aged 3. When it was not in the minds of Mir or Suzuki, the racer who was born in Palma, Spain, September 1, 1997 would be a figure capable of ending Suzuki’s drought.
“I’m still 3 years old. I don’t even know what Suzuki is,” Mir said when asked about Suzuki’s last winning world title through Kenny Roberts Jr.
Outside of MotoGP 2020, one of the most bizarre seasons in Grand Prix history, watching Suzuki win the world title through Mir is not something that everyone predicts. Even by Suzuki himself.
As one of the Japanese factory teams, Suzuki was underestimated. Since Roberts became world champion in 2000, Suzuki has fallen behind Honda and Yamaha. Suzuki even left the MotoGP world championship after the 2011 season.
When they returned to full performance in MotoGP 2015, Suzuki was still considered a complementary team. Through the duet of Maverick Vinales and Aleix Espargaro, Suzuki was only able to win one win in four seasons, namely when Vinales won in the 2016 British MotoGP.
Vinales’ victory brought Suzuki’s long wait to an end. At that time Vinales became the first Suzuki racer who was able to win in MotoGP since Chris Vermaulen at the French MotoGP 2007.
The resurgence of Suzuki began to appear in MotoGP 2018. The podium is increasingly being achieved through Andrea Iannone and Alex Rins. The Suzuki GSX-RR motorcycle began to be seen as a threat after winning two wins in the 2019 MotoGP through Rins at the Argentine GP and the British GP.
Last season Suzuki was somewhat unlucky. Mir, who underwent his debut season, was struggling with injuries. Mir’s best finish in MotoGP 2019 is when he crosses the finish line at the Australian MotoGP in fifth.
But even though they are considered to have enough packages to compete in the race for the MotoGP world title, Suzuki is trying to be realistic. When the 2020 MotoGP started Mir thought the GSX-RR was not fully ready.
“We thought maybe we could compete in four, five years, or even longer, when the bike was ready. Now the bike seems ready, the rider is ready, faster than we expected. Everything is going well,” said Mir.
A competitive motorcycle does not necessarily guarantee the MotoGP world title. That’s what happened with Repsol Honda this season, when they collapsed when Marc Marquez was absent even though the RC213V was considered the best.
On the other hand, Yamaha and Ducati have had problems with motorbikes, despite having competent riders. While Suzuki is in an uncertain position. They have competitive motorbikes, but are Rins and Mir ready to become world champions?
Favoring Mir to become the 2020 MotoGP world champion when Marquez was absent doesn’t make sense because of his lack of experience. Rins should be on the list of favorites from the Suzuki camp because he has more experience.
On the way to the 2020 MotoGP world title, Mir also received a lot of criticism. Especially because Mir has never won a MotoGP victory, until the criticism was successful Miracle-Mir silenced the victory in MotoGP Europe.
When asked what made Mir able to successfully win the MotoGP world title, the first factor is consistency. However, there is another important factor that made Mir a successful champion in MotoGP 2020: indifference.
Mir is too cold-blooded to be bothered with pressure or burden. Mir doesn’t care about the flow of criticism, especially when he is considered not a ‘valid’ MotoGP world champion because he has never won.
When asked about the pressure, Mir gave an answer that showed the 23-year-old racer has no burden in MotoGP 2020.
“The real pressure is on people who can’t pay their rent because of the current conditions, because of the coronavirus and everything, and they can’t buy food. When I hear questions about pressure, I always think, ‘I don’t have any pressure. , because this is my job ‘. So I feel I have a special condition, “said Mir.
When a rival against a man is pressureless, burdenless, cold-blooded like Mir, the opponent’s chances of beating Mir are slim. Thanks to that consistency and ignorance, Mir was transformed into the Suzuki Messiah.
