Joan Mir hails the "best package" he has had since joining Honda

With the fastest overall time in the Sepang tests so far, Joan Mir had every reason to smile at the end of the second day of testing. The world champion MotoGP 2020 is satisfied with the package he is currently using on his Honda RC213V, which he does not hesitate to call the best bike he has had since joining Honda at the start of the 2023 season.

"We only used one soft tire today, the one we used for the qualifying lap."he explained to the official MotoGP website at the end of the day. “It was a good lap, but I still had a bit of room for improvement, as is probably the case for everyone. More than trying to set a fast lap time, the goal is to find a good package, one that I can feel comfortable with and ready to attack. For now, it’s the best package I’ve been able to ride with since I joined Honda, so I’m happy.”

As a factory rider for the Japanese manufacturer, Joan Mir, like his teammate Luca Marini and LCR rider Johann Zarco, has numerous options, particularly aerodynamic ones, to validate. Honda's move from tier D to tier C of the concessions has deprived the brand of the ability to use its regular riders during private testing sessions and the Shakedown, so Mir only has a few days of collective testing to determine the package to use at the start of the season.

“It was a good day for us. We continued with our planned program, trying different things. The idea is to be able to put together what is ultimately a complex puzzle in just a few days! In the morning, we focused on new developments, while on Tuesday we were more focused on the settings, the geometry of the bike, and so on. I feel good on the bike, I'm confident. We still have some weaknesses to work on, but it was a positive day.”

The Spaniard finally painted a picture of what he considered a successful Thursday, with a final day of testing at Sepang before heading to Thailand for the Buriram tests, followed by the first Grand Prix of the 2026 season.

“I’d like to be able to test everything and draw my own conclusions about the new features. Then, I’d like to have the best possible package with everything we have at our disposal. We’ll need to confirm the choice with good pace and good lap times, because that’s important, but the feeling on the bike over long stints is more important than performance on a single timed lap.”

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