Joan Mir says he hopes Honda “has learned from its mistakes” following a successful MotoGP pre-season test programme.
Honda has been a frequent backmarker in recent seasons, but the Japanese manufacturer made strong progress in testing, with Mir ending the Buriram test in sixth.
The Spanish rider admits there is encouragement because while there were still issues, the bike was clearly able to make up time.
“The lap time was not fantastic,” Mir said via Crash.net.
“I couldn’t match everything together because we only put one tyre at the end, we didn’t make two time attacks like a lot of riders did.
“This makes me happy, because it means that we made the lap time but we have the margin to do it.”
Mir was keen to highlight the positives, saying that Honda feels “closer than ever” to being back at the front.
“For me, the most important thing today is the feeling that I have on the bike,” the 2020 world champion said.
“The pace that we were able to do during the Sprint [simulation] is something that we are closer than ever since I’m with Honda, so [I] cannot really ask for more.”
He added: “It’s another story, the feeling that I have now and the feeling that I had last year.
“I hope we can continue with this, I hope that we don’t get lost in the middle of the evolution like happened last year in the middle of the year.
“So, I hope that we learn from our mistakes and also I want to congratulate my team because to make this step in this small period of time is something that is not easy.
“I’m very happy for them. These tests don’t mean anything, but mean a lot at the same time for the people that work there.
“It has been impressive to be close to the top five with this margin that a couple of months ago we were not able to fight even with some test riders.”
Joan Mir: ‘weak points are pretty big’ despite Honda development
Despite the positives, Mir admitted he is “a bit worried” about the race pace of the Honda.
“We have a couple of weak points, the problem is that the weak points are pretty big, pretty weak,” he said.
“So, I’m worried about the engine. I’m worried because the bike works well – I’m able now to ride in a way that I like and I enjoy, I will not lie, but the thing is that on the straight we are the slowest.
“Today we were able to make a lap time to position ourselves quite high, and with a bike that probably in the straight I’m not able to compete with.
“So, in terms of racing, we already lost the battle, so that makes me a bit worried.”
Luca Marini: ‘track conditions hid some Honda problems’
Mir’s teammate Luca Marini also suggested there was some lap time left on the table by Honda and that steps forward have been made.
However, the Italian agreed that there were still problems that the manufacturer has to address.
“Today it was easy to make a 1:29,” Marini said via Crash.net.
“In the GP we have to check, because the condition of the track today – and yesterday also – was incredible.
“It was hiding some problems that we have, for example like the grip, because when there is this kind of condition the grip is incredible, you can put more power in the bike exiting from the slow corners, and it’s easier to stop the bike.
“So, it [Thursday] was for sure a good day, but also [Wednesday] was a good day, so overall the preseason was positive.
“We understand very well which is the package that we need to use in the first races, and we can be quite satisfied because we made a step forward compared to our performance here last year.
“But it’s a little bit too early to say it loud, because we need to check in a normal GP what our position is.”
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