Joan Mir: "I can't afford to fail and not be ahead"

   MADRID, 22 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The MotoGP rider Joan Mir (Repsol Honda) confessed this Wednesday "to have some fear of failure" in his debut with the Repsol Honda Team, but he assured that he cannot "allow not to be in front", for which he trusts his " capabilities" to "provide interesting things" in his new box.

"Expectations are high, this year we have a tough year ahead of us. We have to try to be focused on improving in the tests, it is the most important thing. Going race by race improving the sensations", the driver from the Balearic Islands told the press during the presentation of the new Repsol Honda Team and the 2023 RC213V for the new season.

In an event held at the Repsol Campus in Madrid, the 2020 MotoGP champion with Suzuki insisted that he comes to Repsol Honda to "provide experience" and "interesting things". "You always try to apply the experience you have, and I have it in racing, I already took a project to the top at a time when it was not a winner. I will try to do it here," he commented on his goals for 2023.

"Being in a team like this adds that pressure. As long as you have a winning mentality, when you push yourself more than the pressure that comes from the outside, it doesn't affect you. Last year I missed having a little more of that positive pressure when you are playing a championship, and not have the refusal", remembered.

Mir pointed out that he has not analyzed what Pol Espargaró and Jorge Lorenzo "lacked" to succeed in this team, with two unsuccessful adventures. "I have to focus on myself, I'm different from those drivers, it's in my power to control that. Marc makes the challenge more complicated, he knows everything perfectly, but I'm in a good moment, I really want to be in this team is a dream," he revealed.

"I can't allow myself to fail and not be ahead, I want to be ahead. You always have some fear of failure, in any team, but I trust in my abilities, in the team, to fight. Once we're at the top, we'll manage it -fight for victories with Márquez-, hopefully the time will come soon for both of them to fight for a race", he wished.

The Spaniard admitted that the Sepang tests were a "significant challenge", since he had to give "development guidelines" for the bike, while he continued to adapt his riding to the new machine. "When you don't push 100 percent on the bike, the feedback isn't 100 percent real. Even if it's at the right level, if you require different things than your partner, you create confusion and in this case they're not that different and we can take a similar motorcycle", he pointed out.

"Acceleration is something that I have to keep improving and discovering, we can work on it in the electronic part, I need more time to understand acceleration, it's also a matter of trust," he explained as a factor on which he must continue working.

Regarding the new weekend format and the sprint races, Mir believes that "the focus of the weekend will change quite a bit." "Friday is already to qualify for Q2, it will be busy. Until I try it, I don't know if I'll like it or not, but I like to compete. I want to see how we live it," he valued.

Finally, Mir argued that the possible decline in the follow-up to MotoGP may be due to a change in "the theme of heroes", since before "there were four who risked everything and now 12 riders can win a Grand Prix". "Over the years, this will change, and that we can be one of those who are always winning," he wished.