Joan Mir ended virtually 4 years of frustration together with his first podium in Honda colors at Motegi.
It got here a large 1,422 days after the previous world champion final stood on the podium at Portimao in November of 2021, with Suzuki.
Since then, accidents, an uncompetitive Honda and misfortune have left Mir battling even to complete, struggling 29 retirements because the begin of final season.
Mir’s 67-race barren podium run was the longest endured by a former champion within the MotoGP four-stroke period apart from Nicky Hayden, who spent the final two seasons of his profession on a CRT/Open class bike.
“From the day that we determined to maneuver to Honda in a troublesome interval, we already knew that a very long time with out good outcomes may occur, however I couldn’t think about that period of time,” Mir acknowledged.
“The truth is that it has been a super-difficult interval. I simply by no means gave up, attempting to see the positives from the issues that had been occurring to us; now you may think about how good the style of this podium is.”
Longest podium hole after successful a ‘MotoGP’ title:
Nicky Hayden: 82 GPs 2011-2016 (retired)
Joan Mir: 67 GPs 2021-2025
Fabio Quartararo: 29 GPs 2023-2025
Valentino Rossi: 28 GPs 2020-2021 (retired)
Jorge Lorenzo: 19 GPs 2018-2019 (retired)
Marc Marquez: 10 GPs 2022-2023
Francesco Bagnaia: 5 GPs 2025
Casey Stoner: 3 GPs 2009
Joan Mir, 2025 Japanese MotoGP
The lengthy wait contrasts with Mir’s meteoric rise earlier in his profession.
The Spaniard spent simply three seasons in Moto3/Moto2 earlier than reaching MotoGP, a feat matched solely by Pedro Acosta.
It then took Mir 20 races at Suzuki for his first MotoGP podium, ending that very same second season as world champion.
However after six podiums and third within the standings the next yr, Mir’s success dried up.
An injury-marred ultimate Suzuki season in 2022 was adopted by a transfer to Repsol Honda as Marc Marquez’s team-mate in 2023.
Whereas Marquez deserted Honda for Gresini Ducati in 2024, Mir slipped to a profession low of 21 factors and didn’t break the grand prix high ten.
HRC’s overhaul of its MotoGP challenge lastly started to repay this season.
However whereas LCR’s Johann Zarco took victory and podium glory, and Mir’s team-mate Luca Marini made an enormous leap ahead, the Spaniard suffered a nightmare run of retirements.
Every little thing lastly got here collectively for Mir in Japan, the place he was fourth in Friday apply, shocked by splitting the manufacturing facility Ducatis on the entrance row in qualifying after which battled Marc Marquez on the way in which to a detailed fourth within the Dash.
The Grand Prix appeared a extra demanding prospect, however Mir settled into an early fourth place, then claimed the rostrum by overtaking a fading Pedro Acosta at mid-distance.
Mir took the chequered flag a secure three seconds away from Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi.
Joan Mir and HRC, 2025 Japanese MotoGP
“I simply loved each lap of this race, preventing with these guys after a very long time not doing it,” Mir mentioned.
“Tremendous-happy for the workforce, they deserved rather a lot, additionally right here in Japan. I can’t consider a greater place to do our comeback and simply super-happy for Honda, thanks to them – they deserve it.”
“I do know what I achieved”
The ‘nearly as good as your final race’ nature of motorsport, mixed with social media, means the 28-year-old’s achievements have typically been forgotten.
“In sport on the whole, you might be what you make in your final race,” Mir mentioned. “Not simply me, I believe everybody has the identical drawback. On the finish, it’s very straightforward to cover behind the cellphone and to talk about shit that doesn’t give any profit to anybody.
“However, on the finish, I do know what I achieved. I believe the people who know a little bit bit about this world and about sport on the whole worth every part.
“I’m not super-good as we speak and yesterday I used to be a catastrophe. It’s not like that.”
Podium lap instances, 2025 Japanese MotoGP
Mir has additionally proven top-five potential in different grand prix weekends.
“The potential that I had on this grand prix isn’t one thing that stunned me. The rostrum, sure. However the potential itself not a lot, as a result of even in Misano I had good potential on Friday,” he mentioned.
“Additionally in Brno I began fairly in entrance. The factor is that we couldn’t put a end result collectively.
“My aim originally of the weekend was to attempt to put a weekend collectively.
“It was not a podium that I used to be excited about, was extra a high 5, however I had the chance to struggle for one thing larger and I did it.”
Mir’s 22 factors from Motegi transfer his season tally to 72 and as much as fifteenth on the planet championship.
