It has been a season of new records for twenty-three-year-old Joan Mir (Suzuki) who became the first-ever former Moto3 champion to claim the FIM MotoGP World Championship and the first rider to win it for Suzuki since 2000 when Kenny Roberts Jnr took the title.
• All the 2020 FIM World champions
In doing so he permanently etched his name into the history books and dethroned his Spanish compatriot Marc Márquez who crashed out of the opening round in Spain and was unable to race for the remainder of the season.
Mir has grown up in the public eye as he graduated through the MotoGP ranks. Starting in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup in 2013, he became a regular on the podium before his first full season in the Moto3 Junior World Championship in 2015. The following year he moved up to the full Moto3 class where, in 2017, he raced to his first World title.
After impressing in Moto2 in 2018 Mir earned a ride in MotoGP for 2019 when, despite tasting the Tarmac a couple of times, he ended the season strongly with his best result a fifth at Australia’s Phillip Island.
Having shrugged off his rookie status, Mir was impressive in 2020 pre-season training, although he crashed out of two of the opening three rounds before finally finding his feet. Mir was leading the Styrian GP when it was red-flagged but came back strongly with a run of podiums – including a maiden victory at the Gran Premio de Europa – that carried him to the MotoGP title one round early at the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana in mid-November.
PALMARES
FIM Moto3 World Champion: 2017
FIM MotoGP Grand Prix World Champion: 2020