Mir wins first MotoGP title
Motorcycling: Suzuki rider Joan Mir clinched his maiden MotoGP crown and became the Japanese team’s first world champion in two decades with a seventhplaced finish at the Valencia Grand Prix yesterday.
Mir began the race with a 37point lead over his closest challengers — Fabio Quartararo, of Petronas Yamaha, and Suzuki teammate Alex Rins — and secured a fourth successive top10 finish from 12th on the grid to emulate American Kenny Roberts jun, who won the riders’ championship for Suzuki in 2000.
‘‘Unbelievable. I don’t have words to describe this emotion because it’s something that I’ve been fighting for all my life,’’ the 23yearold Spaniard, who won the 2017 Moto3 world title, said.
With one race to go, Mir has an unassailable 29point lead over Petronas Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli, who sealed his third victory of the season. — Reuters