The Sepang shakedown was very productive for Joan Mir. In just two days, shortened due to rain, the Repsol Honda rider had a myriad of solutions and innovations to test, proving the manufacturer’s determination to return to success, but he is still not ready to start the season.
Quoted by GPOne.com, the rider from Palma de Mallorca explained that there was a lot of material and solutions to test, admitting that he still can’t make final choices: ‘These extra days were definitely a great help and honestly it’s good to be back riding these bikes. […]. Today we did a lot of laps, but it was a shame about the rain these days, because we had other things to try. In any case, I think it was two good days and it’s still crazy the amount of things we managed to try. We have to understand the direction to follow, because we tried different bikes and different engines, with a different character, and the truth is that right now I can’t choose one. Let’s say the new one may have some positive aspects, but at the moment we can’t see the full potential of this second bike‘.
In these two days of shakedown, Mir had at his disposal an RC213V identical to the one he tested in Valencia with some changes, as well as another identical bike with a different engine. Honda has been working hard over the past few months to make progress, but the 2020 champion admitted that he still doesn’t feel ready for the Qatar GP:
– We have seen many elements and many changes within Honda and what I can see is that they want to get out of the situation we are in. However, one thing is to want and another is to achieve, because the other constructors have done very well for several years and have a lot of information that we may lack, they have done many tests and have followed, for three/four years, or even more, the direction that we are now following. We are in this process and we are taking good steps, but I don’t feel prepared for the first race.
