Team Suzuki Ecstar is standing pat through the 2022 MotoGP season, as it re-signs Joan Mir to the squad. This announcement comes six weeks after Suzuki extended the contract of Mir’s teammate, MotoGP race winner Alex Rins through 2022.
Mir showed top form in February’s Qatar test on the Suzuki GSX-RR, where he was in P2 overall on opening day, just 0.002 seconds behind Rins. Mir continued a strong showing with a P4 on the second day, and P6 on the final Qatar test day. These results establish Mir as a strong top 6 contender in 2020, as well as a podium threat.
“I would like to thank Joan for trusting us with his future, and also the whole Suzuki Motor Corporation who supports us,” Suzuki Ecstar Team Manager Davide Brivio said. “Being able to extend the agreements with both Alex Rins and Joan Mir during such an extraordinary and strange moment in history is a sign that give us high hopes for the future, and encouragement to all the fans to look ahead with positivity and optimism, with the hope of being able to get back on track as soon as possible.”
“We are proud to have reached an agreement with Mir alongside Rins and maintain the current lineup,” said Team Suzuki Ecstar Leader Shinichi Sahara. “This will give us a continuity that will be very helpful for the development from a technical point of view. The consistency of keeping the same riders is very important, because it helps us keep track of the progress made and means we stay on the right path.”
Taking the 2017 Moto3 title onboard a Leopard Racing Honda NSF250R, winning 10 races along the way, shows that Mir has World Championship credentials.
Moving up to Moto2 the following year, Mir had mixed results on the Kalex-framed Marc VDS Racing Team motorcycle. Although he scored four podiums and eight top-six finishes, Mir failed to score points in four races and sat in P6 in the 2018 Moto2 standings. Regardless, Team Suzuki Ecstar snapped up Mir to replace a struggling Andrea Iannone for the 2019 MotoGP season.
With just one year’s experience in Moto2, Mir had an inconsistent MotoGP rookie season. Mir missed two races last year due to injury, and scored no points in three other races. On the upside, he secured two top-six results, as well as 10 top-10 rides. Put that all together, and Mir ends the 2019 MotoGP season in P12 in the standings.
This year, Mir competed in the inaugural MotoGP Virtual race, where he finished in P7.
“I’m extremely happy to sign with Suzuki for another two years,” Mir said. “Renewing is the best thing that could happen, and it’s a dream come true again! It’s really important for me to continue, because now I have more time to learn and more time to show my potential. Two years can go by quickly, but I am ready to arrive at a higher level, and we are working every day to make that happen. I am also so pleased on a personal level because I have a really good team and crew around me. I really want to thank everyone at Suzuki for their confidence in me, and let’s see if I can get the results that we’re capable of.”
Mir, 22, is from Mallorca, a Spanish island in the Balearic chain in the Mediterranean Sea, off the east coast of Spain. He runs #36 on his Team Suzuki Ecstar GSX-RR.
