MotoGP world champion Joan Mir was very upset with the results of the first day of the Qatar MotoGP 2021 free practice session, Friday (26/3), so he failed to qualify immediately for Qualification 2 (Q2).
The Suzuki racer admitted that in the previous pre-season tests his performance was quite good. He assessed that 70 percent of his team are ready to welcome the 2021 MotoGP which will start in Qatar, Monday (29/3).
Mir started yesterday’s free practice (FP) session fifth fastest, but then slipped to 11th in FP2. He lost the top 10 by just 0.013 seconds.
With FP3 conditions that made it impossible to improve lap times in the combined order, Mir faced Q1 in his first qualifying session as the reigning MotoGP champion.
“Actually I was very upset today, now, being a champion on the track is meaningless,” Mir grumbled quoted from motorsport.com.
Mir admitted that he was trying to calm down because this was just the first day of free practice. Although, Joan Mir admits it is difficult to be faster in FP3 because Qatar’s weather is very hot.
“I’m calm because it’s just the first day, it’s difficult to [be faster] in FP3 because the weather is so hot. If we have to go through Q1, we’ll go through that. What’s convincing is in terms of speed, I’m among the best. needs to be fixed, but I think we have speed. It can be improved. “
Meanwhile, teammate Alex Rins finished fifth at the end of FP2. These results suggest that Suzuki has improved in qualifying.
This was Suzuki’s main weakness in 2020, when Joan Mir became the first world champion since Wayne Rainey in 1992 to never record a pole position.
Mir also doesn’t feel Suzuki should be able to fight for pole on Saturday, but he insists his team must be in the front two rows.
“Alex has a good FP2, no need for anyone to show me how Suzuki is doing,” said Joan Mir.
Joan Mir said Suzuki had an increase in motor performance, although he shouldn’t be complacent.
“We have a lot of room for improvement with this bike and it is important that we both give 100 per cent and he has a good FP2,” said Joan Mir.
Joan Mir promised to continue to work hard to fix his weaknesses.
“We have to continue to work and improve our weak points. I am not saying to fight for the front position, which is quite difficult for us, but [I am chasing] to be in the second row or be around there,” said Joan Mir.
