Mir: ‘Better riding alongside Marquez’, important to have ‘him in the garage’

While the pair have had a frosty relationship since Mir moved up to MotoGP in 2019, being alongside the eight-time world champion has proved valuable in adapting to the Repsol Honda machine.

But with Marquez now ruled out of this weekend’s Argentine Grand Prix, a circuit where the Spaniard has won on three occasions, Mir will be leading the team on his own in just his second appearance for the Japanese manufacturer.

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Marquez suffered an injury to his hand before undergoing successful surgery, however, the second round of the season has come too early for Marquez, as is the case for Miguel Oliveira who was also injured as a result of Marquez’s mistake in Portimao.

After losing control under braking for turn three, Marquez first ran into the leg of Jorge Martin before smashing into Oliveira at full speed. 

On the other side of the garage, Mir finished in a quiet P11 during the Grand Prix which was one place behind former Suzuki teammate Alex Rins. 

Mir’s opening round in Repsol colours wasn’t without incident either, as he too made contact with another rider, this time during the Sprint race after hitting the side of Fabio Quartararo.

It was a collision which led to Mir crashing out of the race, while Quartararo managed to somehow stay aboard his M1 and recover from P19 to finish tenth. 

Speaking ahead of this weekend, Mir said: "A busy start to the year as we are already heading straight to the next race! For us, still in the learning stages this is a positive because we are able to get more time on the bike and immediately try out some new ideas. 

"We had a mixed weekend in Portimao, so I am hoping everything can run without incident this weekend and I can get more miles on the bike. 

"This is the objective, to keep building and improve our speed in both races. Last year I managed a good result in Termas, so I am interested to see what we can do this year. 

"I also want to wish Marc all the best in his recovery, it is always better to be riding alongside him on track and have him in the garage."