The Japan Times - Former champion Mir joining Honda as MotoGP musical saddles revs up

Mir, who won the title in 2020, did not have a ride for next season, because his current team Suzuki is quitting MotoGP.

"Honda Racing Corporation are proud to announce the signing of Joan Mir. The 24-year-old will compete aboard the Honda RC213V in the Factory Team on a two-year contract alongside Marc Marquez," the Japanese team said in a statement.

Honda needed a rider because Pol Espargaro had already announced he was headed to the rebranded KTM/GasGas team.

That team is racing as KTM/Tech3 this season with Spaniard Fernandez as one of their riders.

Meanwhile Portuguese rider Oliveira is racing this season with the main KTM team, which has already announced it is signing Australian Jack Miller for next season.

At Honda, Mir, who turns 25 on September 1, will be one half of a potentially potent dreamteam. His teammate, fellow Spaniard Marquez, has six world titles but is still battling back from a 2020 crash which saw him undergoing a fourth operation on his right arm at the beginning of June.

Mir won the Moto3 title in 2017 on a Honda. He moved up to MotoGP with Suzuki in 2019 and won the title in the Covid-curtailed 2020 season. He also collected his solitary race victory that season in Valencia.

Mir suffered a fractured right foot in a crash in the last race in Austria and will miss the next round this weekend at Misano in Italy.

"We will take advantage of all my experience accumulated over the years in MotoGP with Suzuki to contribute as much as possible to the project and to fight together to become world champions again," he said in the Honda statement released on Tuesday.

Oliveira and Fernandez are also joining a changing team as RNF switches from Yamaha bikes to Aprilias next season.

Oliveira, 27, has won four Grands Prix. Fernandez, 21, is currently 24th in his first season in MotoGP. Last year he placed 2nd in the Moto2 class with eight wins.

This is the first time that the Italian manufacturer Aprilia, which employs riders Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales in its main team, will have a satellite team and therefore four bikes in MotoGP.

"It has not been a simple process, but together with Aprilia we were very clear on the riders that we wanted. They are both young riders with a good combination of experience," said RNF principal Razlan Razali.

S.Ogawa--JT