Joan Mir is not optimistic about Honda's MotoGP prospects, despite Johann Zarco achieving the team's best finish of the season in seventh place at the Spanish Grand Prix. Mir believes this result does not change Honda's overall situation in the championship.
Key points
Joan Mir doubts Honda's MotoGP prospects.
Johann Zarco achieved Honda's best finish this season.
Zarco finished seventh at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Raul Fernandez and Ai Ogura moved ahead of Zarco late in the race.
Zarco's performance does not change Honda's overall situation.
Joan MirJohann ZarcoRaul FernandezAi Ogura
Motorsport photo
Motorsport photo
Joan Mir believes Johann Zarcoâs performance at the Spanish Grand Prix does not alter Hondaâs overall situation in MotoGP, despite the marque securing its best finish of the season.
LCR rider Zarco was able to mix with the Ducatis and Aprilias for much of Sundayâs race at Jerez, consolidating fifth position after a slow launch from the first row.
A late drop in tyre performance allowed Trackhouse duo Raul Fernandez and Ai Ogura to move ahead, but seventh place still marked Hondaâs best finish in a Sunday race this year.
It further lent credence to claims that poor one-lap pace is holding back Honda in MotoGP, with the RC213V having again proved competitive in race trim.
However, Mir believes Zarcoâs excellent qualifying performance in mixed conditions actually skewed the picture, suggesting the result owed more to track position than outright speed.
âIâm happy for Johann, but we know here that everyoneâs pace is very similar,â he said. âIf you start up front, you can afford to ease off a bit and still finish in seventh place.
âSomeone in front crashed [Marc Marquez], then itâs eighth. Whatever the case, it doesnât tell me anything I donât already know about this bike.
Joan Mir, Honda HRC
Joan Mir, Honda HRC
Joan Mir, Honda HRC
Q&A
What was Honda's best finish in MotoGP this year?
Honda's best finish this year was seventh place, achieved by Johann Zarco at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Why is Joan Mir not encouraged by Honda's performance?
Joan Mir believes that despite Zarco's fifth-place finish, it does not improve Honda's overall situation in MotoGP.
Who finished ahead of Johann Zarco in the Spanish Grand Prix?
Raul Fernandez and Ai Ogura finished ahead of Johann Zarco after a late drop in tyre performance.
How did Johann Zarco perform at the Spanish Grand Prix?
Johann Zarco secured fifth position after a slow start but ultimately finished in seventh place, marking Honda's best result of the season.
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âWe start up front, we fall back. If the race is five laps more, he will finish 10th, and if it's 10 laps more, he will finish 15th. And if you try anything else, you end up on the ground like whatâs happened to us lately.
âSo, it's not a matter of what the result that the other can accomplish. I know my potential, I know everything, but the reality is that we must accept the potential of the actual package and react.â
While Honda has made tangible gains compared to last year, Ducati and Aprilia have also delivered significant improvements to strengthen their stranglehold on MotoGP. On Sunday, the two Italian manufacturers locked out seven spots inside the top 10, leaving just three positions up for grabs for Honda and KTM.
KTM has fixed its tyre degradation issues to a large extent, with Enea Bastianini also emerging as a credible challenger over the last two weekends to assist Pedro Acostaâs efforts on the factory bike.
Honda has had a trickier run lately, not helped by Mir crashing out of the opening three grands prix of the season, including after qualifying fifth in Austin.
While Zarco took satisfaction from his result at Jerez, he stressed that aerodynamics remained the weak link for Honda in 2026.
Johann Zarco, Team LCR Honda
Johann Zarco, Team LCR Honda
Johann Zarco, Team LCR Honda
âWe worked on set-up, I'm sure we can improve the pace and the feeling on the bike by finding an even better set-up, plus me improving my riding on the bike,â he said. âSo we need to make this compromise better and extract the best of what we have.
âIf we look at the bike from outside, maybe we missed something on aero and on the fairing, but this won't change for the year. That's the limit of Honda at the moment.
âThey are working on it, [but] they didnât find anything better in aerodynamics. So we cannot think about the other bikes. There are differences and that's why we lose. We need to find out how to use our material better.â