JOAN MIR OUTLINES PLAN TO CUT HONDA CRASHES BEFORE HIS 2027 GRESINI SWITCH

Joan Mir says he has a “crucial” plan to break the pattern of crashes that has defined his Honda spell, with the Aragon Grand Prix marking a key moment as he looks toward next year’s switch to Gresini. The 2020 world champion’s four-year run with the factory Honda team has not matched the expectations that came with his arrival, when he believed he would have an “easy” time alongside Marc Marquez. Instead, Honda’s downward direction left Mir struggling for consistency and he developed a reputation for going down regularly.

Mir’s 2026 campaign underlines the scale of the problem. According to the report, he has crashed out of two-thirds of the Grands Prix he has started this season, meaning he has only finished on the chequered flag four times from 12 race weekends. The situation has been so severe that some figures in the paddock have questioned whether he should even be on the 2027 grid, given his DNF record.

Speaking during Thursday media duties ahead of Aragon, Mir insisted there is no single cause behind the crash streak. “There’s no single explanation because each one has its own reason,” he said. He pointed to the most recent race as an example, explaining that “in the last race I had a collision and went down,” before outlining how his starting position and race approach could reduce the likelihood of incidents. “It’s clear that if we start from the second row or the front row, we won’t have any collisions. Or if we do, the way you race at the front is very different from the way you race at the back, and that’s what we need to aim for.”

Mir also stressed the need to manage risk more carefully across the weekend, adding that he wants to stamp out unnecessary crashes. “This is what we need to aim for, and see if we can also put a bit of a stop to this run of bad crashes in the race. Especially on Sunday, so we can build up some confidence through the kilometres, which is crucial for the final races, for me, and for next year.”

For Mir, the challenge is not just technical but mental and strategic. He described it as a “major challenge,” and linked the crashes to taking too many risks. “It’s clear that we’ve had crashes because we’ve taken too many risks, because we’ve tried to push harder than we should have, and those are the ones I need to control better as a rider.”

With the final races of 2026 and his preparation for Gresini both in view, Mir said he will remain self-critical and focus on improvement. “So we must always be self-critical, try to improve in that area – it’s a key point for coming into next year well prepared. The same goes for the final races and the rest of this season. So we’re raring to go; we’ve got a major challenge ahead of us.”