[ad_1]
Last Saturday, Suzuki Ecstar and Joan Mir (22) officially confirmed that they would extend their collaboration until 2021 and 2022. The Hamamatsu manufacturer’s driver duo is sure, because two weeks ago Alex Rins (24), twice winner of the season in 2019, he was able to announce the extension of his contract, despite the crown crisis.
“I would like to thank Joan for her trust and also the entire Suzuki Motor Corporation that supports us,” said team manager Davide Brivio when he signed the contract. “The fact that we were able to extend the contracts with Alex Rins and Joan Mir at such an extraordinary and bizarre moment in history is a sign that gives us great hope for the future and encourages fans to look forward positively and optimistic. I hope we can get back on track as soon as possible.
At 22, Mir has had a MotoGP season. The Suzuki Works rider finished 12th in the world championship with ten top-10 results, despite missing two Grand Prixs after his accident during Monday’s test in Brno. Of the rookies, only the sensation man Fabio Quartararo (21) was better, who was on the podium seven times. I ranked fifth at Phillip Island as my best personal brand. The 2017 Moto3 world champion was also convincing in winter testing, and recently finished sixth in Qatar, just 0.271 seconds behind Maverick Viñales (Yamaha).
“We are very happy that we were able to reach an agreement with Joan Mir and that he completes our training over the next two years,” said Brivio. “We see Joan as a very talented driver and it is important that we continue together to make the most of the experience we have gained so far and try to improve further. We are also happy to have a young team with two strong drivers like Alex and Joan, which was our goal. Therefore, we can look to the future with confidence. ”
Suzuki’s focus on continuity was not a surprise. Already at the team launch in early February, Brivio emphasized: “Our project, which we started a few years ago, involves building our own riders so that we can have the best MotoGP riders and celebrate victories. We are very happy with Alex and Joan, they both started their MotoGP careers with Suzuki. We hope to continue together as long as possible because they are very strong and have great potential. I think it’s a great team, we should keep it that way.
This has now been confirmed with the signatures of Mir and Rins. “This will give us continuity, which will also be useful from a technical point of view,” explained project manager Shinichi Sahara, Suzuki’s philosophy. “This consistency of keeping the same drivers is very important because it helps us track progress, which in turn means that we are on the right track.”
Sahara said of me: “Joan is a talented driver, he has demonstrated his skills last year and we believe that with his team he can celebrate significant successes as soon as he has more experience.”
