Joan Mir knows he can’t afford to repeat last year’s miserable debut Repsol Honda MotoGP sea💃son and labels 2024 as 'the most important year of 🧜my career'

Suzuki’s 2020 world champion scored just 26 points last season and didn’t see a Sunday chequered flag once from April to A🔥ugust, as accidents and injuries took their toll.

A fifth place in India provided a brief glimmer of hope but proved to be his🎀 only top ten appearance.

Fortunately, the heavily revised 2024 Honda prototype, which Mir took to tenth (+0.692s) at the recent Sepang test, i𝕴s showing signs of prog📖ress.

“The truth is thi🎐s is a very im💜portant year for me, maybe the most important of my professional career so far,” Mir said at today’s Repsol Honda team launch.

“If a rider has one year that’s not okay… then two ൩in a row is even worse. So I want it to w🐼ork. I will do my best. I think Honda is on the same page and I’m very optimistic.”

“It looks like it’s a year of changes,” he added. “𒀰The bike is completely different and the new livery is very aggressive.

“Honestly, I think we’ve improved a🌱 little bit of everything. We just miss a little bit of acceleration at the moment, then something on the aerodynamics.

“But the bike is already completely different in ♏terms of aerodynamics. It looks more like a modern bike! Last year there 🦩was only one wing and this year there are a lot.”

Among t൲he many changes for Mir this season is a move to the other side of the garage to work with Marc Marquez’s former crew, headed 🦩by Santi Hernandez.

“This is a good change, let's say, because with Santi it was very natural at the Sepang test,” Mir🍃 said. “We were able to create a 🌼good atmosphere inside the box which very important for a rider and we were able to work well together.

“Also with a🌄ll the mechan🐲ics was something very great. I really enjoy working with them and I think we can make a good team this season.”

Team manager Alberto Puig insisted there are no question marks 🐻over Mir d♊espite last season.

"We know Joan from the past and we know last year he struggled a lot with the bike, but this year๊ he recovered his confidence and he's a very fast rider. He's a two-time world champion. So we have no question mark on him. So let's see how this new bike can help him to deliver his potential."

Puig has also been pl♊eased with the adaptatꦦion into the team by new signing Luca Marini.

"For Luca, he's a new guy, but we are really surprised about t꧃he way he’s jumped into the team. It's like we knew him for a long time," Puig said. "He's very precise, very structured. He knows what he wants. 

"He's a young guy that look🗹s very mature in the way he's acting i🌺nside the box with the mechanics, with the engineers and at the end of the day he's a very normal guy. 

"From our point of view, it's 𒀰very easy to work with a pers꧋on like this and we are very pleased for him to be here with us. 

Unlike new team-mate Luca Marini, Mir’s current cont⛎ract expires at the end of 2024.

Pre-season testing will conclude in Qatar on February 19-2🐻0.