Mir makes history with title win
23-year-old Spaniard ends Suzuki’s 20-year drought to become 2021 MotoGP champion
‘I’ve been fighting for this all my life. Now it’s happened’
Joan Mir completed an epic journey from 2020 underdog to Suzuki stardom when he was crowned MotoGP World Champion in Valencia.
A nervy and nail-biting ride to seventh place meant the 23-yearold won Suzuki’s first World Championship in two decades. Mir joined Barry Sheene, Marco Lucchinelli, Franco Uncini, Kevin Schwantz and Kenny Roberts Junior in winning a premier class title for Suzuki to conclude a title chase nobody had predicted the Spaniard would be part of (see page 68-69).
Mir barely got a mention when potential title candidates were identified ahead of just his second season in MotoGP on board Suzuki’s user-friendly GSX-RR. But he’s the new hero of the Hamamatsu factory and becomes just the fourth Spaniard to win a premier class title – alongside Alex Criville, Jorge Lorenzo and, of course, Marc Marquez. An ecstatic Mir said: “It’s unbelievable to be the guy to bring Suzuki back to the top in MotoGP after 20 years. When I crossed the line and saw World Champion on my pit board, I was in shock and didn’t feel like it was happening to me and I started to cry. I’ve had this dream to be World Champion since I was a ten-yearold and I’ve been fighting for this all my life and now it’s happened it feels impossible to believe.”
Mir married sheer speed with unerring consistency and he fully justified his bold decision to reject big money offers from Honda and Ducati to join Suzuki last year. Returning Suzuki to superpower status after two decades with minimal success was a prime motivating factor for Mir who added: “When I started talking to Suzuki team boss Davide Brivio in Jerez in 2018, he didn’t need to convince me. I was already convinced. I wanted to bring Suzuki to the top because a title with this brand feels even better. This was the reason I signed for Suzuki. To win a title with any manufacturer is unbelievable but I congratulations to MotoGP’s first new World Champion since Marquez sensationally triumphed in his rookie season in 2013. The Texan said: “It was great to watch and he did just what he needed to do and didn’t take any unnecessary chances to close out the Championship. Congratulations.”