Joan Mir will proceed to journey for the manufacturing unit Honda staff till the top of the 2026 season after agreeing a contract renewal with the Japanese marque, Autosport has realized.
The event additionally implies that the 2017 Moto3 and 2020 MotoGP champion will stay within the premier class for one more two years, taking his profession tally to eight seasons.
The Spaniard made his debut with Suzuki in 2019 and gained the championship in solely his second season earlier than Suzuki’s sudden exit from MotoGP prompted a transfer to Honda in 2023.
Since becoming a member of the Tokyo-based producer, Mir has contested a complete of twenty-two grands prix however is but to attain a podium or a pole place. A fifth-place end achieved on MotoGP’s go to to India final September stays his greatest end result on the Honda.
Though no rider has been capable of make the RC213V work in recent times, Honda has valued Mir’s progress and the position he has performed within the improvement of the beleaguered bike.
Mir can also be at present Honda’s highest-placed rider within the championship standings, holding 18th place with 13 factors. He has 4 extra factors on his tally than LCR’s Johann Zarco (nineteenth) and has outscored Taakaki Nakagami (twentieth) by 5 factors. Staff-mate Luca Marini sits twenty fourth having but to open his tally in 2024.
Though a lot of names have cropped up as potential choices for Honda, the fact is that it had at all times seen Mir as its first choice. As such, HRC has now come to a verbal settlement to maintain him in its line-up for one more two seasons, with an announcement anticipated quickly.
The choice additionally provides stability on the manufacturing unit staff, with Marini already tied to the squad till the top of 2025. Zarco additionally has a contract to race a Honda with LCR subsequent 12 months.
Joan Mir, Repsol Honda Staff
Photograph by: Repsol Media
Exterior of Honda trio Mir, Marini and Zarco, a lot of riders have legitimate contracts for 2025: Marc Marquez will be part of Francesco Bagnaia at Ducati, Brad Binder and Pedro Acosta will race for KTM, Maverick Vinales and Enea Bastianini will staff up at Tech3, Fabio Quartararo will lead Yamaha, whereas Jorge Martin will be part of Aprilia.
Retirement menace thwarted
This improvement has poured chilly water on rumours that Mir might doubtlessly prematurely retire from MotoGP after the 2024 season.
After a troubled begin to the 12 months and pre-season exams by which the steering of the bike had utterly deviated from his directions, Mir critically thought-about hanging up the helmet on the age of 27.
Nevertheless, in current exams, Honda has rectified the course and it appears that there’s lastly some gentle on the finish of the tunnel, giving Mir some hope in regards to the improvement of the RC213V.
One other Positive information is that Honda remains to be negotiating long-standing contracts about its personal future, which implies that a Suzuki-style farewell is not going to be on the playing cards earlier than 2027.
The identical 12 months, new technical rules are set to come back into pressure in MotoGP, providing Japanese producers to meet up with their European rivals.