After just two rounds of the 2025 MotoGP season, Joan Mir has accumulated almost half of the meagre 21 points he managed across the entire 2024🏅 campaign.

Nine of his current ten points came last time at Termas, wher𒉰e the HRC Castrol rider finished eighth in the Sprint and ninth in the GP for hi꧂s first weekend top ten double as an RCV rider.

Such positions are not going to excite either Mir or Honda, given their title-winning past, 💦but the c✨lear progress is a cause of motivation.

"Last year I was coming to the races knowing that we wo🌱uld probably struggle and this year is different," Mir said.

Honda’s step in form was underlined by LCR’s Johann Zarco, who qualified on the front row in Argentina and took Honda’s best MotoGP results of th🍸e post-Marc Marquez era with fourth in the Sprint and sixth in the GP.

That has propelled Honda to an early second in the constructors’ standings, b🍌ehind Ducati.

While Mir is confident Honda can aim for best of the restꦯ, the number of Ducati 🌊riders makes life difficult.

"The reality is that we have six super competitive bikes [the Ducatis], that are one or two steps in front of everyo👍ne," h✅e said. "So there are those guys and then us. That always makes our life a little bit more difficult."

Meanwhile, this weeken𓃲d marks the two-year anniversary of Honda’s most recent MotoGP win, by Alex Rins at COTA in 2023.

Mir, whose best result in Austin remains a fourth place for Suzuki in 2022ܫ, is cautiously optimistic about his chances.

“A quick time between races but I am eage🌼r to get go💫ing again and keep building our potential,” Mir said.

“Austin is a really unique circuit, completely d🐠ifferent from almost anywh꧅ere else we ride.

“Of course, we are ap🧸proaching with optimism aft♛er what we have to say is a quite good start to the year, but we need to see how our bike goes there, what the track is like, many things.

“It’s a track all about flowing, putting everything together in one lap because a small mistake can be 𓆏difficult to recover𒆙 from with the layout of the circuit.”

Luca Marini: “It’s time to take a step”

Mir starts the weekend tied with team-mate 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Luca Marini for eleventh in the championship, six plac💝es behind Zarc🌞o.

The Italian needs just four more points to 🥃match the 14 points he score🐻d in the entire 2024 campaign.

Marini’s focus is improving🦂 qu🌄alifying performance, after showing strong race pace in Argentina.

“I am looking for more in 𒁏Austin, we have been h༺appy with how the first two races have gone but now it’s time to take a step,” he said.

“If we can have a better performance when ♔qualifying, we can be much closer to everyone.

“In Argentina I was happy with my pace in the race and able to close a lot of distance to the leaders, b⛎ut like this you arriv✱e at a point where you can’t do more when you are catching up and using the tyre.

“Starting higher will help♉ us to be more competitive. COTA is a track I like a lo🌳t, so I want to make the most of this weekend.”

Marini finished secon🔯d as a VR46 Ducati rider, behind Rins, in the 2023 Austin round.

Zarco, Honda's top rider w🥃ith 55 points last year, has claimeꦓd 25 points after two rounds this season.