Joan Mir

Joan Mir

Honours

Sporting career

Biography

Joan Mir was born in Palma de Mallorca on September 1st, 1997. His passion for motorcycles began at a very young age. At six years old he got his first motorcycle, and a year later he was given a Honda QR.

In 2009, at the age of twelve, he entered the Balearic Federation motorcycle school, where he took part in his first races in the minimoto and minimotard categories, as well as in the Bankia Cup. That same year, Mir participated in the Campeonato de España de Velocidad (CEV) in 125cc, where he shone by finishing third overall. He became part of Chicho Competición, the riding school run by the father of Jorge Lorenzo, also a champion from Majorca. Two years later, he joined the Balearic Federation school.

From 2011, he began to win his first titles, starting with the XL160 class at the age of 14 and the 125cc PreGP Cup at 15. His talent led him to be selected to participate in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup in 2013, where he achieved ninth place. In the following edition, Mir earned three victories, finishing runner-up in the series.

His talent did not go unnoticed and in 2015 he participated in the FIM CEV Repsol championship. That same season, he would replace the injured Hiroki Ono at the Australian GP in the Moto3 World Championship, a first step towards his first full Grand Prix season the following year.

In his first full season in 2016, Mir won the ‘Rookie of the Year’ award for placing fifth in the overall standings. A special moment for the rider was the Austrian GP, at the Red Bull Ring, where he took pole position and achieved his first Grand Prix victory.

After a first season of adaptation, and still just 20 years old, Joan Mir entered motorcycle racing history in 2017 by being proclaimed Moto3 World Champion, with ten victories and three podiums to his name. In 2018, Mir made the move up to Moto2, where he would achieve 4 podiums that would put him sixth overall and give him his big chance to progress to MotoGP.

The first season was low-key, with a fifth-place finish at Phillip Island in Australia his best result. The 2020 season was, without a doubt, the best of his career to date: He was crowned MotoGP World Champion and the rider with the fewest years needed to win the title, his 4 years surpassing Marc Márquez with 5. Consistency would take him to the summit of the class, with 6 podiums in total and a first victory of the season coming at the European GP, at Cheste.

In 2021, Mir earned another 6 podiums and finished in third place overall. After a difficult 2022 for the Spaniard, he now joins the Repsol Honda Team in 2023, alongside teammate Marc Márquez.