The post-season MotoGP test in Valencia was the first time since Joan Mir's entry with the factory Honda team in 2023 that they introduced something effective for testing, and he recognised his happiness with that fact. The 2020 world champion admitted that Honda required further help during the September test at Misano when Marc Marquez admitted that the team was still not performing up to expectations. Nevertheless, Mir expressed his evident satisfaction with the new advancements by saying that the bike "seems to be working better."
Mir ran 69 laps on the day of testing, finishing in thirteenth place with a best time of 1'30.051. Mir began the day by taking note of his health following his crash-related withdrawal from the Grand Prix. He rode without significant restrictions and carried out his testing programme with precision. Although a final time attack was not possible due to the tight timeline, Mir left the test satisfied with the first improvements achieved by HRC engineers since the Misano Test. There were encouraging signs of progress during the testing session as a whole. In addition to completing 72 laps, Luca Marini helped the team finish in tenth place with a best time of 1'29.956.
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MotoGP Valencia Test: What Did Joan Mir Say?
After testing the Honda Bike 2024, Joan Mir said, “It was a good day today and I am pleased with what we have seen from the prototype. The first success was being able to test because, after the fall on Friday, it was not guaranteed. At the end of the day, I did start to feel some pain but the important thing is we were able to have a busy and successful day, getting through a lot of items. We were trying things until the very end of the day and we didn’t have a chance to do a proper time attack, but this is not the focus – our pace was good and the developments are positive. There is still work to do, but the first steps are in the right direction and we can head into the winter looking forward to what is to come,” he added.
Mir added, "This is something that makes me very happy. It’s the first time I’ve started to see some evolution on the bike, and the package and we tried many things. We didn’t have much time to do time attacks but even like that, we are not bad. In terms of pace I was able to be strong and get some feelings, some confidence with it."
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MotoGP: The Valencia Test
Fans were swept away by the excitement of the post-season testing in Valencia that preceded the 2024 MotoGP season, which was marked by major changes. Notable among the highlights was Marc Marquez's first test on the Gresini Ducati, a major shift from his MotoGP career spent entirely with Honda. In unexplored terrain, the 30-year-old rider set the fourth-fastest time of the day.
The day was made even more exciting by the fact that young and promising Moto2 rider Pedro Acosta made his MotoGP debut. With his impressive track navigation, Acosta finished the morning practice in seventeenth place, thrilling the spectators and building excitement for the next MotoGP season.
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