Joan Mir's Consistency: More Than Just Speed
It's easy to get caught up in the thrill of a fast lap, but for MotoGP racer Joan Mir, the real victory lies in something far more significant: consistency. While his Friday performance at the Portuguese MotoGP was undeniably 'pleasing', it was the reliability of his performance that truly stood out.
For much of his career with Honda, Mir found himself outside the top 10. However, the Asian races marked a turning point, with Mir securing two podium finishes, thanks to improvements made by Honda during the 2025 season, especially after the summer break.
Now, in Portugal, he's back in the top five on Friday, positioning himself to contend for top positions at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve.
"It was a positive day overall," Mir shared with MotoGP.com. "I feel quite comfortable with the bike; we solved some problems during the day because this track is a special one, so you have to adjust well the electronics side, and I think we are a bit on it."
Mir added, "I think for tomorrow we have a bit of margin to work a bit on the details; that is where you make the difference. Pleased, I’m happy; I’m able to ride the bike in a good way. So, good."
He acknowledged his past success at Portimao, where he finished second in 2021 and battled for the podium in 2022 before an incident with Jack Miller. However, Mir emphasized that his current form is more critical than excelling at a single track.
"It’s one track that probably suits my style and probably also Honda style – more than Sepang, I would say," he explained. "But, anyway, the most important thing is that you feel comfortable in all the circuits, not just in one, and I think we are confirming that. So, that is very positive from our side."
Marini's Challenging Day
In contrast to Mir's success, his Honda HRC Castrol teammate, Luca Marini, faced a more challenging day. A crash early in practice at turn 13 disrupted his afternoon, and he struggled to break into the top 10 during the time attacks.
"Not our best day," Marini admitted. "My mistake with the crash and some bad luck."
He explained that the crash occurred because he "was a bit wide, and the temperature of the tyre dropped; it’s easy to happen here with the conditions we had."
"It’s a pity because we lost time; we couldn’t use that bike, but I stayed focused to push hard because you could see the weather coming in."
"For tomorrow, we need to improve the braking in turn one and five, some fine-tuning to increase my speed. Today, we also tried a couple of new things to help out the engineers, which is always good; we’ve made a lot of progress this year, but we still have more to make."
A Note on the Source
This information comes from Alex, who joined the Crash.net team in August of 2024 after covering motorcycle news at Visordown for two years.
What do you think?
Do you agree that consistency is more important than a single fast lap? Share your thoughts in the comments below! What are your expectations for Mir and Marini in the upcoming races?
