Young Talent Joan Mir Will Debut in MotoGP with Team Suzuki
Joan Mir is only 20 years old, but he has already shown excellent riding skills and competitiveness in the Moto3 and Moto2 classes.
(Image taken from AcidMoto)
Thus, the young Spaniard will be allowed to debut in the Top Class after only one year in the intermediate class, as announced by Suzuki Motor Corporation.
Hailing from Palma de Mallorca, Spain, the racer debuted in the World Championship in 2015 at the Australian GP in the Moto2 class, and raced in the same class for the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Despite 2016 being a learning year for Mir, he managed to get three podiums with a first, second and third place. And the following year, he obtained ten victories, two second places and one third place for a total of 13 podiums (with one pole position) - giving him 341 points and the crown of the 2017 Moto3 World Champion.
Currently racing at Moto2, Mir has already achieved two podiums and is currently 5th place in standings.
Next year, he will be a factory rider in MotoGP with Team SUZUKI ECSTAR for the 2019 and 2020 seasons, racing alongside partner Alex Rins aboard the Factory GSX-RR.
It is said that with his two years of experience on the GSX-RR, Rins will be valuable to young Joan Mir in helping the latter get acquainted quickly with the team, machine and class. Seeing these young racers racing at the MotoGP will certainly be exciting and they will hopefully be able to bring something new to the racing tracks.
(Image taken from MotoGP)
Project Leader Shinichi Sahara said: “As a team we have always tried to look forward to long term development plans, which includes also making some bets on young riders that we feel can be an investment for the future. We did it in our debut year in 2015, we did it again in 2017 when we signed the debutant Alex Rins, who has been confirmed also this year, and we are further confirming this with the agreement with Joan Mir.”
“He is a young talent we would like to see grow and help us to grow the GSX-RR and the team with him. He is now involved in the Moto2 class and we definitely want him to enjoy the championship, but we are also eager to start working with him and see him debut in the top class. We believe in his skills,” Sahara continued.
Davide Brivio, the Team Manager, also added: “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. 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