Joan Mir: Testing important to 'understand' Suzuki future

With the top MotoGP riders expected to put pen to paper on their 2023 MotoGP contracts sooner rather than later, former world champion Joan Mir has confirmed pre-season testing will be important to 'understand' his future.

Suzuki won a bidding war to sign Mir as a rookie in 2019. After an injury-interrupted debut season, Mir made history by winning Suzuki's first four-stroke MotoGP title in 2020.

But last year saw the Spaniard fail to lead a race lap and openly frustrated at the rate of development made to the GSX-RR on the way to third overall behind Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati).

Against that backdrop, and with Mir's contract up for grabs, there is a logical risk of a rival manufacturer tempting the 24-year-old away for 2023. But the good news for Suzuki is that Mir has been impressed by their winter development efforts.

"A lot of people finish their contracts in 2022 and we are hoping to renew, or to take a different decision [for 2023]. Honestly, the test will be important for me. It will be important to understand everything," Mir said, ahead of this weekend's opening pre-season test in Sepang.

"As a Suzuki rider now, I feel great here, I feel like I am at home. But it's true that a change is something that in some moments can be good, also. But at the moment, I cannot speak more about it because there is nothing decided. But let's see."

Mir added: " I didn't try the bike yet, but I saw that [Suzuki] have brought a lot of things to try, some improvements that are on paper quite interesting… Looks like Suzuki works more than I probably expected.

"Last year, something happened, and the things that they brought were not the step that the others made. And Suzuki knew that. And this year, they made a lot of effort to bring more things than normal."

Like Yamaha, Suzuki riders have been pressing for more top speed to take on the Ducatis.

"On the straight, the rider can't do a lot," Mir said. "It's important to work well on picking up the bike, accelerate well, but on the straights it's the bike that has to be powerful.

"Suzuki has worked, on the engine, and I don't know if I will overtake some Ducatis [on Saturday], but I think that they improved. That's always important, to find improvements."

As of lunchtime on day one, Mir is fifth fastest and team-mate Alex Rins third. The pair are occupying the middle of the top speed charts, behind the fastest Hondas, Ducatis and Aprilia but a match for the best KTM and ahead of the Yamahas.