The MotoGP world champion, the Spaniard Joan Mir, took on the “dream” of winning again in Portimão, where he won a European race in speed motorcycling, because podiums alone are insufficient with Marc Márquez.
The 23-year-old Suzuki Majorcan inherited the scepter of the 'king' of MotoGP in 2020, the year in which the Catalan, champion in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, who will return in the Grand Prix of Portugal, third race of the season.
“It doesn't scare me, I don't think it's any different from last year. He wants to win, he will surely be a very difficult rival to beat. Honda works, he too, it remains to be seen where Márquez is. That's the question, but I have to do my running, be focused on myself and on getting as much as I can”, said the world champion, in statements to Lusa agency.
Mir arrives at the Portuguese race in sixth place in the drivers' standings, with 22 points, 18 less than the leader, Frenchman Johann Zarco (Ducati), after fourth and seventh places in the first two races of the year, both played on the circuit from Losail, Qatar.
“The expectations are high, I think this weekend is very important for me, because last year I had mechanical problems, in qualifying and in the race, and I had to retire, which was a shame because I like this track and it is important to get a good result. The bike works, let's see if the pilot works too”, he stressed.
The withdrawal on the debut of the Algarve circuit on the World Cup calendar is a “spine in the air” for Mir, who reached the race won by the Portuguese Miguel Oliveira (KTM) already champion, without achieving the consecration.
“Miguel's dominance has nothing to do with it, he had a very good race, a very good weekend, very intelligent, and we had mechanical problems. I think it could be a good circuit for us, but Miguel will also be very fast, like many others, but I want to see my potential, to get a good race”, he stressed.
The 2020 championship was marked by the absence of Márquez, but above all by the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to the reorganization of the calendar, with a lesser diversity of circuits, in contrast to the winners – nine in 14 races.
Mir took the title with seven podiums and just one victory, the first and only in MotoGP, at the Grand Prix of Europe, the first of two races held at Valencia, something he himself wonders if it would be possible to achieve against the traditional Márquez.
"I do not know I do not know. With a Márquez like in recent years, getting podiums is not enough to win championships. But sometimes, when you're always going to win, you can get injured. Crashes happen in every race and we have to understand what Suzuki's potential is and reach for it. Injuries represent fewer points, so you have to be smart and always be in the fight”, he explained.
Also during the promotional action for the beer that sponsors him, Mir stressed his desire to “be in the fight for victory, with Miguel”, on Sunday, admitting that, at the beginning of the year, he saw the chances of winning the championship as reduced.
“It was brutal! I wouldn't believe it in the first place. It was my second year in MotoGP, maybe a 'top-5' would be good, but now I'm 23, I may only have won this time or won more. And I hope to repeat it”, he said, acknowledging having felt the lack of audience throughout the season.
Urged to nominate the circuit of choice, Mir began by appointing Phillip Island, in Australia, where he was crowned Moto3 world champion in 2017, to quickly make that preference depend on next weekend's result: “If you win, it becomes Portimão, if not, what I like least.”
If he wins, it will be the Mallorcan's second triumph in the Algarve, after winning the 2015 Moto3 European Championship, for which he started from pole position.
“I remember it very fondly, because it was the first race of the CEV (European Speed Championship) and I managed to win it with a team that wasn't the best. From then on, they started to see me with different eyes, so this circuit was very important to me and it would be a dream to win again here in MotoGP”, he concluded.
Comments