On Sunday, Alex Rins and Joan Mir celebrated Suzuki’s departure from MotoGP with a win. A new chapter in their careers then began for the two Spaniards. Both were signed by Honda.
Mir drives alongside Marc Márquez for the factory team and Rins alongside Takaaki Nakagami for LCR. In MotoGP, Mir and Rins have only ridden for Suzuki and thus an in-line engine. On Tuesday they did their first laps with the Honda RC213V in Valencia.
Mir completed 73 laps and was almost nine tenths of a second down on his fastest. Rins came up with 91 rounds. He was 1.2 seconds behind. They were not allowed to talk about their impressions because they are still under contract with Suzuki until the end of the year.
That’s why there were no media rounds with journalists on Tuesday evening. They were only allowed to say a few words to the TV cameras of MotoGP promoter Dorna. However, they said nothing about the Honda.
For Rins it sounds like this: “To be honest, I’m quite happy because it was a good day. We did a lot of laps. 90 laps wasn’t that bad. I’m happy with this test. The goal was to prepare for everything. I think we did it.”
And Mir comments succinctly: “It was a good day. We did a lot of laps. I got to know all the team members. Now it’s time to recharge the batteries so that we are as well prepared as possible for the season.”
What Marc Márquez says about his new colleagues
At the latest at the next winter test in February in Sepang (Malaysia), both will be able to speak openly about their impressions of the RC213V. However, Marc Márquez makes it clear that it was not an easy start for either of them.
“I didn’t speak to them much and only heard some statements that they were surprised at first,” says Marquez. “But it seems that it’s getting better step by step. We know it’s difficult to get consistent lap times on this bike.”
“But we’re on one of the best routes for this motorcycle. You have to ask them,” Márquez doesn’t want to be the “transmitter” of impressions from the two Honda newcomers. Of course he knows more about himself.
“They’re part of Honda and it was important for me to hear their first impressions. When you ride a bike for a long time you get used to the problems. If you’re talented enough, like Mir and Rins, you can get used to the problems adapt because you’re talented.”
“They will be fast,” Márquez is convinced, “but if you look at their lap times, it’s not an easy bike. If it were easy, you would be doing the same lap times straight away. With a difficult bike, it takes all day, until you achieve acceptable lap times.”