Joan Mir believes Honda is in the fight to be best of the rest behind Ducati in MotoGP 2025 after an en😼couraging Thai Grand Prix weeken꧟d for the Japanese marque.

Honda was one of the surprise stories of the pre-season and carried on that 🌺solid form into the opening rouওnd of the new campaign last weekend at Buriram.

Mir qualified 11th on his RC213V and recovered to ninth in the sprint after losing places avoiding Marco Bezz𓃲ecchi when the Aprilia rider spun his rear tyre off the line.

It marked Mir’s first sprint points since Jerez last year, while he w🉐as on course for a potential top seven result i♈n the grand prix before crashing at the last corner on lap 15 of 26.

Joan Mir on Honda's Thai MotoGP

Without the crash, Mir reckons he could have been “close to the top five”, which would have put Honda as the first non-Ducati in the order, and believes this is thꦍe target HRC should realistically be aiming for no♍w.

“A bit of a shame because for me today ෴I think we could have made a good job,” Mir said on Sunday.

“I think today we could have been able to be 🐼very close to the top five with the pace that w𝕴e were showing.

“And this is something in the last years I was 🤪not able to say to you in any race.

“So, it means that we are on the way. I think this is the worst scenario that we can have in terms of♑ temper🦹atures and we were strong. So, I’m happy.”

Asked 🍸by wuqian0821.com if best of the rest was realistic for Honda now, Mir ♕added: “Yeah, we have to go for it.

“I think the Duc🍸ati, at the moment we cannot com👍pete with them.

“But with all the rest I think we can. I think we 𝄹showed in this race what we can do and this is something that keeps me boosted🍬 for the next one.

“Hopefully we can find🌱 the solution for this thing of the heat, be♐cause honestly it was hard.”

Mir noted all weekend at Buriram that the Honda struggled in extremely hot conditions, with t⛦he Spaniard blaming his crash on the temperature of his bike: “I think it was the wor𒐪st time I had on a motorbike for this burning - I was never burning like this.”

With Mir crashing out, LCR’s 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Johann Zarco too𝕴k top Honda honours in ꦡseventh, which already exceeds the Japanese marque’s best result from the entirety of 2024.

168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Luca Marini on the sister factory team Honda w▨as 12th, which e🔜quals his best result from last year too.

Heꦓ believes Honda has gained 0.4s per lap in pace ♕compared to the 2024 bike.

“I think we gained, com𝐆pared to our pace from last year, four tenths,” he explained.

“Maybe we were 1.2s [off the pace], at the moment we are maybe 0.8s but we don’t know hꦓow much Marquez has in the pocket.

“For sure he was managing a lot in th💧e front. They will grow up a 💝bit but I think there is a limit that you can’t go faster than this with the tyres, which are amazing because we are doing the lap times in an incredible way and very constant during the races.

“But of course we can get closer to them during the year, I hope as soon as poss🃏ible.”

Quotes provided by Crash MotoGP Editor Peter McLaren