The announcement of a contract between Alex Rins and LCR, a Honda satellite team run by Lucio Cecchinello, confirmed rumors that HRC had made the best possible decision and decided to pick up a duo of Suzuki racers who were left without a contract for next year due to the departure of the Hamamatsu plant from the championship.
However, there is still no official information about signing a contract with Joan Mir. Only the lazy one didn’t write that the 2020 MotoGP champion would become Marc Marquez’s partner in the Honda factory team. Given the Spaniard’s status, his manager expects a commensurate salary from Honda. But the situation, in the end, is quite difficult… Suzuki’s departure only worsened the situation that had already arisen earlier. In MotoGP, the salary level has dropped sharply. Obviously, this is a consequence of two years of the pandemic, as well as the geopolitical situation in Europe. Companies are reluctant to invest in such projects and production difficulties at factories due to the lack of fundamentally important components. Mira’s manager answered questions from reporters.
What caused the delay?
This is the question you should ask Alberto Puig. I do not know what is the reason for postponing a decision for so long. I don’t think Acosta is the reason, because it seems to me that he should stay for another year in Moto2. Furthermore, I don’t think he’s ready to move to MotoGP. He’s a great driver, and he has a great future ahead of him, but he still needs to gain experience. You can’t dump such a big burden of responsibility on the shoulders of a young guy.
But the contract with Mir has not yet been signed either.
Economically, Joan’s conditions are not the same as those of a beginner. He’s a world champion after all. For me, Honda is the number 1 manufacturer in the world. Suzuki is Atletico Madrid, Honda is Barcelona or Real Madrid. They have to win every year, second place already sucks.
The following is known for sure: The world is not afraid to fight with Marquez, and he basically has no other alternatives.
Joan is not afraid of anything. He knows that Mark has been on this bike all his life, but he also realizes that he will either sign a contract with HRC or stay at home.