Joan Mir says goodbye to Honda: close to a deal with a new team for 2027

The two-time world champion will still be on the grid next year: the latest rumors place him with an Italian team.

Joan Mir is one of those riders who in recent years has struggled quite a bit to get results. Committing to the Honda MotoGP project was a major risk, and only from 2025 did the RC213V see a fairly significant improvement. Despite the progress and a more solid base than in the past, unfortunately the Majorcan has continued to be involved in several crashes that have inevitably sparked reflections about his future.

As is well known, HRC has decided to completely change the factory team line-up: Fabio Quartararo and David Alonso will share the garage starting from the 2027 season. While waiting to understand whether Honda will have Tech3 as a second satellite team, Mir and Luca Marini have found themselves needing to evaluate other possibilities for next year.

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According to reports from authoritative sources such as The-Race and AS, Mir’s future is practically defined: he will race for the BK8 Gresini Racing team from 2027. The Ducati that seemed destined for Enea Bastianini should end up in the hands of the current Honda HRC rider. Barring surprises, he and Daniel Holgado will replace Alex Marquez (future factory KTM rider) and Fermin Aldeguer (VR46).

Nadia Padovani’s squad could be ideal for a rider seeking a reboot like Mir. So far he has only raced for factory teams in MotoGP, but in recent years Gresini has proven to be a top-tier outfit. Moreover, Ducati is a manufacturer that pays close attention to its “customers” in terms of technical support. For the Majorcan’s future, signing with the Faenza-based team could be the right choice; it also includes Frankie Carchedi, currently Aldeguer’s crew chief and formerly Joan’s crew chief. They worked together at Suzuki, winning the 2020 MotoGP title.

Paco Sanchez, the Majorcan’s manager, spoke about his rider’s future to Crash.net: "Given the lack of news from HRC regarding his future, Joan decided at Jerez to leave Honda at the end of the year and asked me to find him a good project. We are making good progress, but we haven’t finalized any deal yet. We hope to do so as soon as possible, but for now I can’t confirm anything else. The only certain thing is that Joan will not be a Honda rider in 2027."

A full agreement with the Gresini team hasn’t been reached yet, but negotiations are progressing positively and it may just be a matter of time before the deal is sealed. Mir had also been linked to the Trackhouse team, where Davide Brivio currently works—another familiar face from his Suzuki days. But the Italian manager will leave Aprilia’s satellite team at the end of the 2026 MotoGP season to move to Honda. It is not yet clear who will replace him or who the riders will be. Raul Fernandez may be renewed, while the other bike could go to Bastianini.