Joan Mir says he is “very happy” to secure a first podium finish of the season in the Portuguese Grand Prix having suffered with electrical dramas in the ’20 contest.
Mir struggled in qualifying having had to contest Q1 after ending FP3 outside the top ten, though managed to progress to the pole shootout on his way to ninth on the grid, team-mate Alex Rins showing the true potential of the GSX-RR as he qualified in the middle of the front row.
The reigning MotoGP world champion was more comfortable in the race though as he remained a part of the battle for second across the encounter, eventually taking third following a late crash for Pramac Racing’s Johann Zarco.
Mir cut a satisfied figure post race after bagging the first rostrum of his title-defending campaign, though admitted he encountered more “trouble than expected” during the mid-point of the race after feeling stronger during warm-up on Sunday morning.
“It was a difficult race,” said Mir.
“I had some trouble in the middle of the race that I didn’t expect (lack of speed), in warm-up I was stronger and didn’t have those issues, we’ll have to investigate as the temperature was higher and we hadn’t run the bike with these kind of temperatures so that could be why.
“This isn’t the best track for me and I managed to be on the podium so I’m really happy, we’ve been strong but we have to keep improving.”
Mir added that it was “nice” to stand on the podium at the Algarve International Circuit following his troubled outing at the venue last season due to a recurring electronics problem with his GSX-RR, qualifying 20th before being forced to retire running 16th as the issue reared its head once again in the race.
“The performance of last year (at Portimao) was not our real performance, and now we’re on the podium so it’s nice,” continued Mir.
“I felt a touch from someone at the beginning of the race which was Marc, we fought pretty hard in the opening laps and I enjoyed the fight.
“This weekend was pretty tough without Frankie (Carchedi, Crew Chief) but Tom (O’Kane, stand-in Crew Chief) and the rest of the team helped to make a strong weekend, it is always tough in racing to have everything under control but we made the podium so not bad overall.”
Rins “disappointed” in mysterious crash after battling for victory with Quartararo
Rins meanwhile continued to out-pace Mir during the race after qualifying second, the three-time premier class winner the only man to seriously challenge eventual race-winner Fabio Quartararo throughout.
His quest to secure supremacy came to a premature end though after losing the front of his Suzuki at Turn 5 with just seven tours remaining while running in the wheel-tracks of the Frenchman’s Yamaha.
A confused Rins explained post-race that he had done “the same thing” as he had on previous laps having consulted his race data, reckoning he was competing at “a good limit” while “controlling his tyres”.
“I’m a bit disappointed because I was behind Fabio (Quartararo), I had to ride to the limit but it was a good limit, I was able to control the tyres and was breathing well and managing well,” said Rins.
“I saw the data on the crash and I did the same thing (as previous laps), I released the brakes at the same moment so I don’t know why I lost the front.
“It could be because the track was on the limit grip level wise but I’m not sure, it’s how I’ve been riding all weekend as on Friday we pushed hard and on Saturday we qualified on the front row and today we felt really strong so it’s a shame to not get the prize at the end but we are on the right track.
“We will arrive at Jerez in much better physical shape than last year, I’ve already talked to my mechanics and team that we need to keep working like we did this weekend, if we can be there in all the sessions we should be able to have a good race.”
