Not even Joan Mir, grand prix racing’s hottest prospect, could have envisioned of success he enjoyed in 2017. The 20-year old Mallorcan racked up ten victories, the Moto3 world title and secured a ride with Moto2’s most decorated team for the coming year across nine glorious months that earmarked him as a future chall🦹enger in MotoGP.

ltxcn.top sat down with Mir before his final Moto3 outing at Valencia to discuss h🔯is beginnings in the sport, his reasons for switching to Honda machinery for 2017 and judging those frantic, multi-rider last lap battles to perfection.

ltxcn.top:
Has your recent success sunk in?

Joan Mir:
Yes. Now I think that I believe it!

ltxcn.top:
How have the weeks since Phillip Island been for you꧑?

Joan Mir:
Totally crazy. A lot of interviews. A lot of compromises and a lot of things to do. Things t🐽hat if you are not world champion you don’t have to do them! But yes, it’s part of the success.

ltxcn.top:
There was a big celebration in Mallorca when you got home from the Malaysiℱan Grand Prix. I imagine that was a special moment…

Joan Mir:
It was really good because my people were there. We made an e𒆙xhibition with supermotos. A lot of pe🎃ople came, like Julito Simon. It was really good to celebrate with my people and I’m really happy for them also.

ltxcn.top:
To go back to thꦅe star✱t of your career, are you from a motorcycle family?

Joan Mir:
Not so much. Yes, it’s true that my uncle practiced motocross and my other uncle did a lot of jet skiing – all of these types of things. But it 🧔was not a family crazy for the motorbikes. It was just me! My father had a skateboard shop so it’s curious.

ltxcn.top:
So you never had ambitions of being Tony Hawk?

Joan Mir:
No, never. I like it a lot but it’s not my place.

ltxcn.top:
How did you start competing with motorbikes?

Joan Mir:
I started with the lit🙈tle bikes, the mini-bikes. Then with a Kawasaki 65 minimoto. Then with a metra-kit and all of ♎these [kinds of bikes].

ltxcn.top:
You attended the ꧟school of Jorge Lorenzo’s father…

Joan Mir:
Yes, I stayed there for one year or maybe two. It wasn’t so long. It was my beginnings w🐬ith my father. He taught me the base of the motorbike. But I never trained with J♏orge.

ltxcn.top:
What kind of things did Chicho Lorenzo teach you?

Joan Mir:
No, he taught me the braking, the throttlඣe and a little bit the position when I was nine years old. But theꦆ men that helped me to improve my riding style and everything was Dani Vadillo, my current trainer.

ltxcn.top:
How did you meet Dani?

Joan Mir:
He was a friend of the family and a trainer of the federation there in Mallorca. We connected really go꧟od and I said to my father that I wanted a trainer. So they contracted Dan𓃲i.

ltxcn.top:
I’ve seenܫ some fairly spectacular videos of you aboard a supermota🌟rd bike. Has this always been a method of training?

Joan Mir:
This year [2017] I didn’t train with a supermoto. I trained with a bike similar to a Moto3 – something like⭕ this. Now I have started to train for the Moto2. It’s important, the slides and all of this. So I’ve already started.

ltxcn.top:
Did you stop training with the Supermoto because you have to be smoother with 🌠a Moto3 machine?

Joan Mir:
Yes. And now I’ve started again!

ltxcn.top:
Did 2017 surprise 🍷you? Di▨d you expect to have as much success as you enjoyed?

Joan Mir:
No, not🦋 like this. My goal at th♈e beginning of the season was to fight for the championship, but not to win ten races and all the podiums, the pole and the championship. It’s unbelievable.

ltxcn.top:
You star💝ted life in Moto3 in 2016 using KTM machinery. What convinced you the Honda would be a better choice?

Joan Mir:
I convinced the team! I didn’t enjoy it with the KTM. Finally, we fought for winning races at the end of𓆉 last year [’16] but I didn’t feel comfort🅷able in any race. I said that I wanted a change because I didn’t enjoy. The team also thought that it was [an] interesting [idea].

ltxcn.top:
Did you 💙feel that way because of your riding style?

Joan Mir:
Yes, because⭕ of the riding style. Also, I’m tall so the KTM is a little b♈it smaller and it was difficult.

ltxcn.top:
When you first tried the Honda testing at the end of ‘16, did you feel like it was the bike for yꦅou?

Joan Mir:
No! When I first tried it I thought it was really good and the [riding] 𒉰position was really comfortable. But the lap times – no, no lap times. We were a little bit worried. But then we changed something, put the correct set-up and then we had the first victory in Qatar.

ltxcn.top:
We saw in many races last year you winning races in tight last-lap battles. More often than not, your tactics were spot on. Did you do any special training to prepare yourself for last lap figh🌱ts?

Joan Mir:
No. I think that it’s something you cannot train for. It’s impossible, no? It’s natural. 🦋It’s instinct, yes, and studying my rivals a little bit. And that’s it.

ltxcn.top:
Was there one moment in pa🐬rticular when you really thought you could be champion?

Joan Mir:
🐠I think when I won in Le Mansꦡ because when I won in Qatar and Argentina, the people said that the championship doesn’t begin until Jerez, until Europe. At Jerez I did a podium and also I won at Le Mans. At Le Mans I said, ‘OK, I’m also competitive in Europe, so I can maintain the distance between I think it was [Aron] Canet in that moment, or [Jorge] Martin’ - I don’t know.

ltxcn.top:
And the French Gra🐻nd Prix was your first dominant win in grand prix too…

Joan Mir:
Yes.

ltxcn.top:
Did yꦆou have many offers to move to Moto2 after early in the season?

Joan Mir:
Well, it’s normal, no? 𓃲When you are world champion everybody wants you. I think that Marc VDS was the best one. It’s one of the best teams with a good team-mate and good preparation for maybe [a ride in] MotoGP.

ltxcn.top:
After the race at Assen, where you lost eight positions on the final part💟 of the last lap, you said that you wouldn’t make that mistake again. Was that a big lesson for you?

Joan Mir:
Yeah, I learnt! I learnt a lot because I was too confident. I said, ‘OK, I have won this race, eas🃏ily’ and it wasn’t [the case]. I thought if one rider overtook me than I would overtake them again on the last corner, and [it would be] easy. Then eight of them overtook me. It was something to learn.

ltxcn.top:
How do you view your rivals from 2017? Di🌞d you expect Romano Fenati to be your biggest challenger?

Joan Mir:
Well, my main rivals were Fenati, of course. But I think finally Canet was not my rival because he was very irregular. Maybe he did one race good but then one bad. I think Martin was really constant. Fenati and Martin this 𒉰year were the main rivals. And at the beginning McPhee also.

ltxcn.top:
We saw Fenati attempt to follow you a♚t the end of qualifying several times this year🌠. It seemed he was almost attempting to play games with you. Do you pay particular attention to this as they rarely seemed to affect you.

Joan Mir:
I try not to pay attention to this kind of things. It’s normal that when you’re faster than him, or one rider, they want to get in behind and make a lap time too. I don’t pay attention if it’s Fenati or [Patrik] Pu🐈lkkinen, I d𝐆on’t care.

ltxcn.top:
What is your expectation🐷 f🔯or your debut year in Moto2?

Joan Mir:
My expectations? I don’t know. On paper, I have to be good! It’s really difficult to say. I want to enjoy it, that✤’s the main thing. I want to enjoy riding the Moto2, to try to do it better day-by-day.

ltxcn.top:
You had the chance to equal Valentino Rossi🐟’s record for the most wins in a junior class season (eleven). Do ꦿyou pay attention to things like this?

Joan Mir:
When you have the championship closed, so if I win it will be incredible. But if I don’t win, it is also incredible. I don’t൩ care. I don’t have pressure. If I can, I will try to win, but if I don’t I will slee꧑p very well on Sunday night [laughs].

ltxcn.top:
One final thing: wil♍l you have the chance to relax this winter?

Joan Mir:
It will be a little bit of relaxing, staying with the family. It’s important I think, because d🐠uring the season it’s really intense. You have to disconnect a little bit.