Joan Mir turns down #1 plate for MotoGP title defence
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Get MotoGP news in your inbox! By signing up to the newsletter you agree to receive emails from that may occasionally include promotional content Leave this field blank Reigning MotoGP world champion Joan Mir has officially confirmed that he will continue to race with the #36 on his Suzuki GSX-RR this season and not use the #1 plate.”The number will be the same as always, the loyal one, #36!” Mir explained. “I think it would have been really awesome to use the #1, a unique experience and a dream.”But I believe that 36 is the number with which I’ve worked hard and it has taken me to where I am now, winning two world championships [MotoGP and Moto3].”…this doesn’t mean if I happens again, I won’t chose #1. But for now, it’s the #36. The number that represents hard work and suits me best.”JOAN MIR: THE DECISION1 or 36?A difficult choice for our champion, watch as he reveals and explains his race number! @MotoGP @JoanMirOfficial #TheDecision #NuMIRology h51sVX8WZv— Team Suzuki Ecstar (@suzukimotogp) February 12, 2021With the likes of Marc Marquez [93) and Valentino Rossi (46) always keeping their usual race numbers during a title defence, the #1 was last seen in MotoGP with Casey Stoner at Repsol Honda in 2012.Related ArticlesaccImages.createImage(); FIRST LOOK: Tech3 KTM turns orange for MotoGP 2021accImages.createImage(); Marc Marquez injury update: ‘Favourable clinical situation’It hasn’t been on a Suzuki since Kenny Roberts Jr in 2001.Despite the marketing benefits for the manufacturer and sponsors in having the #1, speaking earlier this week Suzuki MotoGP project manager Shinichi Sahara insisted he wouldn’t mind which number Mir chose.”I was happy to see the #1 plate in Valencia last year [when Mir won the title]. For me that’s enough. But if Joan choses the #1 plate this year, of course I’m also happy,” Sahara said.Related ArticlesaccImages.createImage(); FIRST LOOK: Red Bull KTM’s 2021 livery for Binder, OliveiraaccImages.createImage(); Brivio ‘window’ closes, but Suzuki ‘hasn’t given up’ on satellite team”It’s not easy, but we will try to have another #1 plate this year, so whatever number we have during the season doesn’t matter to me.”No rider in the MotoGP era has successfully defended a title while using the #1 plate, something that last happened in the premier-class with Mick Doohan in 1998.”4
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