Joan Mir will make his MotoGP debut in 2019, after signing a two-year deal to join the factory Suzuki team alongside Alex Rins.
Mir stepped up to Moto2 with the Marc VDS squad as reigning Moto3 world champion at the start of this year and has impressed already, tallying up back-to-back podiums at Le Mans and Mugello, and putting himself fifth in the points table.
Although agreeing to a three-year deal with Marc VDS, it is thought Mir's contract has a clause which allows him to split with the Belgian outfit should a factory team approach him.
Mir reportedly signed a pre-contract with Honda, but when the Japanese marque failed to exercise an option to fully sign the Spaniard, he opted instead to agree on a deal with Suzuki.
Davide Brivio, team manager said: "Joan Mir is only 20 years old now, already a World Champion with an impressive 10 wins last year and he has already proven several skills.
"He is fierce, he is witty, he is nice and he can be very fast. All the characteristics that we like to search for in a young rider, who wants to join us not only for the prestige of a factory machine in the top class but most of all because he believes in our racing project.
"Talking to him I realised how much he has a clear mind, how much he liked our Suzuki project and wanted to join us. This has been a great boost for us. Of course, we know very well that he will need time to gain experience and grow with us, but we have full confidence in his potential.
"Suzuki management encouraged us to pursue the ‘young rider philosophy’ and with Joan I think we found the perfect protagonist for this role. With Alex and Joan we have two very talented riders and our target is to create a strong Team for the future."
Despite an upturn in form this year, Andrea Iannone's troubled '17 campaign on the GSX-RR forced Suzuki to end its association, with the Italian confirming his departure at the end of the year during the Mugello weekend.
Iannone will line-up alongside Aleix Espargaro at Aprilia next year, after Danilo Petrucci, who had a concrete offer from the Noal factory, was signed by the factory Ducati squad as the Honda-bound Jorge Lorenzo's replacement.
Discussion about this post