Joan Mir was considering retiring – then Gresini approached him

In 2017, Joan Mir dominated the Moto3 World Championship. He secured ten victories and won the title in commanding fashion. This was followed by his promotion to the Moto2 class, from where he moved up to MotoGP after just one season. In the premier class, he managed to clinch the world title in 2020 – his second year – riding the Suzuki GSX-RR. He finished the 2021 season in third place in the world championship.

Following Suzuki’s withdrawal from MotoGP, Joan Mir moved to the Honda works team in 2023. Since then, the Spaniard has struggled with the underperforming RC213V. Over the last three years, he has finished 22nd, 21st and 15th in the World Championship standings. Last year, Mir did at least manage to make it onto the podium twice. So far in 2026, he has scored just 33 World Championship points and currently sits 18th in the overall standings. By comparison, his team-mate Luca Marini has 108 points to his name and is 12th.

Joan Mir is fast – there’s no question about that. But in his attempts to get the most out of the Honda, he often pushes the bike too hard – resulting in a great many crashes. It became clear early on this season that there would be no place for him at HRC in 2027. Next year, Honda will enter the 850cc era with a new line-up of riders in its factory team – featuring Fabio Quartararo and, in all likelihood, Diogo Moreira (official confirmation that the Brazilian will move from LCR to the factory team is still pending).

Paco Sanchez on Joan Mir: “He didn’t even ride the Superbike”

Initially, there were few options for Joan Mir for 2027 – until Gresini Racing approached him. “My priority was to find a factory team for Joan. But we then realised that wasn’t going to work out. Joan was thinking about retiring – if we couldn’t find a factory team. He didn’t even consider Superbike or anything else. His position was clear: ‘If I don’t have a competitive bike, I’ll quit and go home,’" his manager Paco Sanchez explained in an interview with SPEEDWEEK.com writer Manuel Pecino. “Then it was Gresini who rang me. I have a very good relationship with them. So Michele (Masini) rang me and said: ‘Paco, we’re interested in talking about Joan.’ I then told him: ‘I’ll come and see you to talk, but I’m not sure whether Joan wants to continue in a satellite team or not.’ I then met with Joan; Gigi Dall’Igna was present at the meeting on behalf of both Gresini and Ducati. He told him that he’d get a genuine factory bike, that he’d receive official factory support, and that if he achieved the results expected of him, he’d have the same bike (as the factory riders, ed.). Of course, the upgrades sometimes arrive a little later, but he would have the same bike as Marc and Pedro.’

To Joan Mir, the offer sounded very interesting – he accepted it. “From then on, Joan put the financial side of things out of his mind; that took a back seat for him,” said Sanchez. “He focused on the chance to have a competitive motorbike again. He wants to feel like a rider competing for the World Championship once more – winning races and finishing right at the front.”

Topic of the week

Topic of the week: MotoGP’s new schedule proved highly controversial

In 2027, MotoGP will also enter the 850cc era with a new schedule. It was not so much the changes themselves as the way the decisions were reached that caused a stir. A prime example of: ‘Talking helps’.

Thomas Kuttruf

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22.10.2026 - 23:55

In 2027, Joan Mir will ride an 850cc Ducati Desmosedici. It’s safe to assume that this bike will be very competitive in the new MotoGP era – just like the 1000cc Ducati.