This season then began with Mir finishing just one of the opening six grands prix, as a mixture of bad luck, incidents and over-riding continued to take their toll.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the first part of the year, the best thing you could do with this bike was a top seven,\u201d Mir<\/a> told Crash.net.<\/p>\n \u201cIf someone did something more, it was due to the conditions or strange situations. But if not, the real potential was to put everything together and make a top seven.<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n \u201cAt Aragon, we scored a seventh. But unless somebody was missing, it was difficult to do more.\u201d<\/p>\n Mir later managed a sixth place in Austria, in between further DNFs, but the turning point came after the latest RCV aerodynamic and engine upgrades were introduced at Barcelona.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter Barcelona, we improved a little bit the aero and the engine connection. That was something that was disturbing me a lot. And then personally I could make a click,\u201d Mir explained.<\/p>\n Everything came together two rounds later in Japan.<\/p>\n Joan Mir, 2025 Japanese MotoGP<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Mir claimed the HRC team\u2019s first MotoGP<\/a> podium since Marc Marquez<\/a> at the same Motegi circuit in 2023, adding to a victory and podium earlier in the season for LCR Honda rider Johann Zarco<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Spaniard then repeated the podium feat at Sepang, a race he rates as his best of the year. Why?<\/p>\n \u201cFor the potential itself of the bike,\u201d Mir said. \u201cSepang normally is not a track that is very good for this bike historically. And I think what we did there was something very important.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause normally, we struggle with grip. And Sepang is a very low grip track.<\/p>\n \u201c[To compensate] we just had to brake a lot, risking more than the others. I crashed in the sprint, so I didn’t want to make that mistake again!<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n \u201cI handled the situation very well. So I\u2019ll say Sepang [was my best race].\u201d<\/p>\n Joan Mir keeps the Ducatis of Fermin Aldeguer and Franco Morbidelli at bay, 2025 Malaysian\u2026<\/p>\n Mir thrilled fans with his late braking exploits in the Malaysian Grand Prix, a natural attribute he had been forced to restrain during his Suzuki years.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the Suzuki, this was not the style,\u201d he said. \u201cI had to adapt to the bike to flow a lot more, brake a little bit earlier and release the brakes earlier. Because that bike required that type of style.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd now with the Honda I’m back to my natural style. Like I had in Moto3 and Moto2. It’s something that I enjoy a lot, braking really hard and really putting the bike into the ground.<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n \u201cBut it\u2019s very difficult to do, because I risk more than the others, and you need to find the limit and the confidence.\u00a0<\/p>\n “It can cause some crashes, but if I’m able to ride with a little bit more margin, we can control that.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Joan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/3000_gng_1268372_hires.jpg\")
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