It’s difficult to say exactly when Honda’s decline to the bottom of MotoGP began, but what is certain is that by October 2025 they had broken out of the slump that had lasted until 2024.
There are several people who could be mentioned as HRC’s relief director, but the rider who could best take advantage of Honda’s 2025 profits at the moment is Joan Mir.
Luca Marini may be the more consistent rider at the moment, and Johann Zarco may have won in France earlier in the season, but it was Mir who was able to reach the podium twice during MotoGP’s Asian Tour, finishing third in both Japan and Malaysia as the 2025 season draws to a close.
The 2020 MotoGP World Champion said his recent performance levels are due to setup changes that have given him more confidence at the front, even though the RC213V still lacks overall grip.
“Set-up-wise, we found something that allows us to ride better. We can attack the front more and turn the bike more into the corners,” Mir said at his post-race press conference in Malaysia.
“But it’s true that there are some limitations to that, because you always struggle with grip and it’s harder on tracks with less grip.
“So we’re working a little bit to improve that for next year so we can offer a package that’s competitive everywhere.
“But we have to be very happy with all the work we’ve done since last year. Well, I’ve been at Honda for three years now, and it’s not a short-term thing, it’s a long-term job, keeping the engineers informed, collaborating and trying to build a competitive package. And now we have to enjoy this moment.”
Honda’s recent improvements and Mir’s recent podium means the question is when can Honda win again.
But for Mir, it is too early to think about the top step.
“I don’t know,” said the Honda HRC Castrol rider. “Before you can start running, you must first walk.
“It’s important to consolidate our podium position a little bit. It’s either finish on the podium or finish on the ground, which is impossible.”
“We have to improve it, work on the bike a little more, try to make it more stable and try to improve the grip a little more.
“This makes the bike a little easier to ride, and you don’t have to push 150 percent all the way around because it’s easy to make mistakes on a bike. This is something that needs to be improved.”
“It’s difficult to improve on it, because every time you get to a better level, it becomes more difficult to improve. We’ve seen this in the past as well.”
“So it’s going to be difficult to improve the actual package, but I think we have the space and the engineers are very good and I have a lot of faith in Honda and the effort they’re putting in to get back to the top as quickly as possible.”
“But first of all, before I win, I want to be in these (podium) places more consistently.”