In the final race of the 17th MotoGP race, the Japanese Grand Prix, Honda’s Joan Mir took third place on the podium.
Mir and Honda come back with third place
This was the first time a Honda factory rider has stood on the podium this season. For Joan Mir, it was his first podium since the 2021 Algarve Grand Prix (when he was with Team Suzuki Ecstar), and for the Honda factory team, it was his first podium since Marc Marquez at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix.
This is Honda’s third podium finish this season, following satellite team rider Johann Zarco’s win at the French Grand Prix and second place at the British Grand Prix.
Honda has struggled in recent years, but this season, especially in the second half of the season, they have been gradually improving their overall results. At the Japanese Grand Prix, they performed well from the first day, with Mir taking 4th place in the afternoon practice, his teammate Luca Marini taking 6th, and Zarco taking 10th, and they advanced directly to Q2.
This Friday afternoon practice is an important session that separates Saturday’s Qualifying 1 (Q1) and Qualifying 2 (Q2). If you can finish in the top 10 in practice, you will advance to Q2. Q2 is the session in which the starting positions of 12 riders, including the top two from Q1, are determined. In other words, once you advance to Q2, your starting position from 12th or higher will be determined. It is like a pre-qualifying session, so to speak, and the final stages of practice are filled with intense time attacks.
This was the first time this season that three Honda riders finished in the top 10 in practice. Even taking into account that Marini missed the Aragon, Italian and Dutch GPs due to injury, this practice session gave a good sense of Honda’s potential.
In Q2, Mir also took second place, his best grid position for Honda and his first start from the front row of the grid for Honda.
On Saturday, in the 12-lap sprint race, Mir held on to third place until the middle of the race, when he was passed by Marc Marquez (Ducati) on lap eight and dropped to fourth place, finishing in fourth place.
“I was hoping someone in front would make a mistake, but nobody did. I think mistakes are the only chance I have to fight, especially with Peco (Bagnaia) and Marc. They were on a totally different level today. I tried to follow Peco in the first few laps, but he was really good coming out of the corners and that’s where he got ahead. The same with Marc when he passed me.”
At the same time, Mir was looking forward to the final race, saying, “I think I’ll be able to compete with Acosta and (Franco) Morbidelli tomorrow.”
In Sunday’s 24-lap race, Mir was running in fourth place until the middle of the race. However, midway through the race, Acosta, who was running in front of him, lost a lot of time due to tire wear, and Mir moved up to third place. He took the checkered flag in that position. As mentioned earlier, this third-place podium finish was a long-awaited result for both Mir and the Honda factory team.
“The truth is, it was a really tough time for me, ever since I decided to move to Honda. I knew it would be a difficult time, and I already knew at that point that there might be a long period without good results. But I never imagined it would be this long. It was a really, really tough time.”
“You can imagine how amazing this podium is. I enjoyed every lap of this race, it’s been a while since I last raced against these guys. I’m also really happy for the team, they deserve this result, and what better place to make our comeback than in Japan. I’m really happy for Honda.”
Takaaki Nakagami, a development rider who participated as a wildcard in the Japanese GP, said, “His braking, cornering and acceleration have all improved overall. Looking at the video, I think Mir is riding very well.”
Honda’s third place finish at the Japanese Grand Prix could be seen as a signal of their “complete comeback.”
Mir (No. 36) finished third in the final race, behind Marc Marquez. ©Honda Racing Corporation
