Joan Mir at Repsol Honda reveal

World Champion in 2020 at the end of a season largely disrupted by the health crisis, Joan Mir has experienced meteoric progress which makes him a legitimate opponent for king Marc Marquez within the factory Honda Team.

New challenge at Honda © MotoGP

Joan Mir has worn the number 36 since his debut because his cousin Joan Perello wore it, when he raced in 125cc between 2010 and 2011. In 2016 for his first full season in Moto3, Mir achieved 3 podiums including a victory in Spain. His 2017 campaign began with a bang with two successes and the Majorcan completely dominated the season with 10 victories to be crowned with three rounds remaining. He was logically promoted to Moto2 the following season with Marc VDS and finished Rookie of the year with 4 victories. This meteoric rise earned him the attention of Suzuki and at the age of 22 the Spaniard made his debut in MotoGP.

Joan Mir, 2020 MotoGP World Champion © MotoGP

Joan Mir reached a new milestone in 2020 with no fewer than seven podiums, including a first victory at the European GP. The No. 36 was rewarded for its exceptional consistency by being crowned a week later, on the same Valencia track. It only took him 5 seasons in the World Cup to put his name on the list of the premier category. In 2021, he finished best of the others behind the untouchables fabio quartararo and Francesco Bagnaia. His 2022 season turned out to be more complicated and without any podiums due to a bad injury to his right heel in a scary highside in Austria which forced him to miss four races.

Shaken by Suzuki's decision to withdraw from MotoGP, he quickly found a golden fallback solution at Honda. A 2023 season full of dangers in perspective on the handlebars of a machine known to be restive and in direct comparison with the six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez. If he were to win a second MotoGP crown, the Honda representative promised to dye his hair white.

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