Joan Mir keeps crashing, what a disaster: Honda is ready to turn the page

Mir keeps racking up crashes instead of scoring points: his future with Honda now seems compromised.

Joan Mir’s start to the 2026 MotoGP season has been truly poor: just 3 points from the 3 Grands Prix held in Buriram, Goiânia, and Austin. Even if the Honda RC213V isn’t the best bike on the grid, he has still delivered results that don’t reflect the value of his technical package. In the recent Texas GP he threw away a chance to get on the podium in the Sprint: he lost the front and crashed at Turn 1 on the last lap. He was right behind Pedro Acosta, who then finished third and was penalized by 8 seconds for an irregularity with the front tire pressure. A missed opportunity. The Majorcan also crashed on Sunday, bringing his tally to 3 Sunday DNFs this season: he has yet to finish a long race.

The overall balance is heavily negative. Even though he has shown he can be fast, he hasn’t been able to capitalize. This has inevitably created disappointment in the Honda HRC garage, which had hoped for a different points haul after the first rounds of the 2026 MotoGP calendar: 26 points, 23 of which were scored by Luca Marini, perhaps less quick but more reliable than his teammate.

After the sprint race he didn’t regret having pushed a bit too much and throwing away a positive result: "No regrets - he said - I had the chance to fight for the podium and that’s exactly what I did. If I hadn’t tried, I wouldn’t be able to sleep wondering if I could have given more. In the future I’ll need to find a bit more patience, but I’m sure that if we keep working like this we can be there, not once or twice, but at every race. The more we improve, the more margin we have. I apologize to the team because this time it was my fault".

He didn’t fail to apologize to the Honda HRC team, but then on Sunday there was another crash that cost him the chance to at least finish in the top 10 and score points. Mir still tried to focus on the positives: "A disappointing way to end a weekend that promised a lot. I was in a position to attack, making up a lot on corner entry and seeing what was possible. When I’m alone I can ride well and fast; in the slipstream with these bikes you have to take twice the risk to make up ground. In the end the front gave way; we need to improve the rear to gain a bit more on corner exit, because this can happen when you push the front too much. I like knowing I have a chance, that’s a positive, and we’ve improved a lot compared to when I started with Honda."

The 2020 MotoGP champion sees good potential in his RC213V and is optimistic for the rest of the season, but he needs to start finishing races and accumulating points. If he had any chance of staying with the current team, he may have lost it with a disappointing start to 2026.

Barring any twists, Mir will not continue racing for the Honda HRC team in 2027. Fabio Quartararo will arrive in the garage and, probably, another rider as well. Luca Marini might not stay either. For the Majorcan, there are rumors of a move to the Trackhouse team, led by Davide Brivio, someone he already worked with during his Suzuki days. Their relationship is excellent, and this scenario cannot be ruled out, though it is by no means a given.

It also remains to be seen whether Honda will have six bikes instead of four next year. There have been contacts with the Gresini team, which in the end should renew with Ducati, and also with Tech3. The latter could end its partnership with KTM and link up with the Japanese giant, determined to return to winning ways with the new MotoGP regulations that will come into force in 2027. Having two more bikes would help development and could also allow, potentially, to keep one of Mir or Marini. This month could be decisive in determining whether HRC can count on another satellite team in the future. Continuity with LRC is certain, with the Zarco-Moreira line-up in Lucio Cecchinello’s garage.