Honda’s Joan Mir has cautioned that his hard-fought ride to a provisional second place at the Catalan MotoGP is not sustainable, admitting he was “very on the limit” throughout the restarted, twice red-flagged 12-lap sprint. Although Mir was later handed a 16-second penalty for a tyre pressure infraction, erasing his podium from the official results, the performance marked a major step forward for both Mir and Honda this season.
“This is what I was looking for in the first five rounds,” Mir said. “But you know, as you could see in the race, I had to ride very on the limit. And this is something that you cannot fight for a podium every race if you ride like this. You can fight for a top six, a top seven, but to fight for the last step with these guys, you have to make something more. And here is where we have to improve.”
Mir was pleased to finally taste podium contention—especially at a track he considers unfavorable for Honda—but emphasized the need for further progress. He also reflected on his battle strategy: “Honestly, I had to be very focused behind Pedro [Acosta]. I let him do all the hard work at the beginning of the race. He was riding very good. I wanted to not make any mistakes. Then DiGia [Fabio Di Giannantonio] overtook me… I think I had something more to fight with DiGia for the race. But before running, you have to walk, and it’s ok.”
Mir’s warning is clear: while a return to the podium is a much-needed boost for Honda, consistently fighting at the front will require more than just pushing to the edge every race weekend.
