Joan Mir (Leopard Racing) has his first shot at the Moto3™ crown this weekend at Motegi, and the Pre-Event Press Conference saw the Majorcan take center stage for some time as MotoGP™ title contenders Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) and Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) gave their thoughts on the Spaniard.
“I think the potential and the talent are there,” said Marquez. “And he’s smart and can understand the races well. He’s the only rider to have finished all the races. This means that, apart from his talent and speed, he can also think a lot on the bike and that’s important. I think he can be a MotoGP rider in the future.”
“He’s showed his talent to everyone,” agreed Dovizioso. “It’s his second year and he’s already able to have a big gap to the second riders, and he’s won in a lot of conditions – so he’s really fast, and for sure he will have a nice future and career. Especially because of the way he races, which has been very smart. That will make a difference when you move class, because you have to adap and it’s not so easy. But if you’re fast and smart that makes a big difference when trying to manage everything new.”
“I think he has a good mentality and approach to races, which is one of the most important parts of Moto3 and makes you learn a lot,” added Viñales, “I think after that you can also use that in Moto2. He’s working really well, has talent, and I think he can do really well. He just needs to concentrate and work hard as always. Moto2 is not an easy class but I think he can do really well there.”
As well as their thoughts on his future, Marquez was asked what advice he would give to the Leopard rider ahead of his chance to wrap up the title this weekend. “After speaking with him, he knows what he has to do,” said the reigning premier class Champion. “Just stay focused and keep the same mentality. He has to go out and try to win the race, because he has the margin to go out and make a mistake but still have a lot of points.”
Right now the Majorcan is 80 points clear and has a very good chance of taking the crown – tune in to see if he wraps it up at 11:00 (GMT +9) on Sunday.