Mir: Honda has same MotoGP problems as last year 'but is faster'

The 2020 world champion battled an engine issue in the opening five laps of the sprint on Saturday before coming through to finish as top Honda in 15th.

With no Honda rider near the points, the Japanese marque has seemingly failed to make any major progress through the field despite radically overhauling its motorcycle.

Asked about what the issues with the RC213V are in race trim, Mir said: “We have the same problems, but [it is] faster.

“The confidence with the front… it’s not that I don’t have confidence. I have confidence, but when I push more I crash.

“The confidence is there, but the limit of this front is not very far. So, you have to play with it.

“I struggled a lot this morning [on Saturday] to put a lap together because I made good sectors but I was always going wide here and there, because I struggled on the front.

“Our grip is better than last year, but not fantastic. But if you want to make the bike turn and brake hard, maybe we lost a bit in that part.

“It’s not predictable. I tried to do as much as I can. It’s true, like what happened in qualifying [when I crashed], if you try a bit more to ride without anyone in front and all this, the limit is there, it’s very close.”

Luca Marini, Repsol Honda Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Factory Honda team-mate Luca Marini fared no better, finishing his HRC race debut in last place as he struggled to turn the bike.

“Really difficult day and also strange, because I was really, really slow today,” Marini, who was on pole and a podium finisher on a Ducati in Qatar last year, said.

“Yesterday I was in line with my team-mates. Also, in the test we were in the same package, while today in the qualifying and also the pace of the sprint was really slow.

“So, we need to understand why, to check well the bike and understand if we are missing something, because the feeling is that the turning is really bad and I’m using the tyres a lot to try to turn the bike but I’m struggling a lot.

“I’m really strong in braking but this is not good for now because I can’t push a lot in braking and then I’m struggling in the middle of the corners.”

While the European manufacturers look to have taken another step away from Honda, Marini sees it as a positive for the Japanese marque that the field ahead of it still looks close.

“Yes, but we knew this,” he responded when asked if the speed of the European marques in the sprint was a wake-up call. “They show a very good potential and I think that it’s really positive that everybody is so close.

“It’s positive for us because if we can find something, maybe we can gain a lot of position.

“It’s just trying to work well in the current direction and make a good step. As soon as we catch some tenths, we will fight for a better position.”