Joan Mir confirmed that Honda’s new engine has shown improvements in “all areas” following the MotoGP test at Jerez on Monday morning.
The 2020 champion spent the test experimenting with the engine, a key area where the Japanese marque is lacking compared to its rivals.
“The character is similar to the old specification,” Mir stated post-test to GPOne.
“They have improved all areas a bit, but none stands out more than the others.
“It’s more linear now, so it’s easier to control, and powerful, although this is not the best track in which to evaluate the top speed, but overall a step forward has been made.”
Mir is “happy” with the progress made, but doesn’t want to risk compromising the rest of the RC213V’s strengths if the engine becomes more powerful.
“Any progress is welcome, but we have to be sure of the changes because at the moment we can fight, and the risk is that to make a step forward we go one step backwards.
“All in all, I am happy. Although we still lack a bit to get the level of the Ducati, some improvements have been seen.
“Testing on a track with a longer straight will be crucial to really understand its potential.”
Joan Mir pinpoints the Hondas ‘main problem’
Mir was asked whether the team tested components related to the suspension, but he identified the key areas he sees as Honda’s “main problem.”
“We have tried a couple of things, but they are not the key to our main problem, which is vibration,” Mir revealed.
“The important thing is to understand the reason why sometimes it is more noticeable than in others, and in the meantime, mitigate the discomfort in the short term.
“At present we suffer most when temperatures are high. Do we also suffer when there is little grip? Not exactly, because usually test riders don’t complain about it.
“As for us official riders, we go into crisis when the tyre drops and this is strange since at that stage the grip decreases.”
