Respect your elders? Joan Mir bites back at Casey Stoner over ‘devalue’ comments
Joan Mir takes aim at Casey Stoner over comments he made suggesting the 2020 MotoGP title fight is devalued by the absence of Marc Marquez
He’s one of the more amiable riders on the MotoGP grid but it seems Joan Mir is finding his voice amid the greater attention he is receiving from his unexpected title challenge for the 2020 MotoGP World Championship.
The Suzuki rider has gone to lengths to rubbish double MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner’s suggestion the 2020 MotoGP season is ‘devalued’ by only competing in Europe and it lacks a leader without Marc Marquez on the grid.
Though Mir seems to get Stoner’s comments a little mixed up (the devaluing comments were more about the calendar rather than Marquez’s absence), his surprisingly personal retort is still a surprising response, saying it is easy for the Aussie to pass comment when he is retired.
“Casey Stoner has disappeared from this world,” he said in quotes attributed to Moto.it. “Sorry because he only reappears when he has to make such statements.I don't know why he says this, but it isn't . Talking from afar and when you are now retired is all too simple.
“Establishing himself by taking advantage of the absence of the favorite has already happened to Marc Marquez himself. It also happened to many other riders who were not the favourites for that year, someone got injured and in the end it was someone unexpected who won the world championship.
“The same thing happened to Marquez when he won his first title: Pedrosa and Lorenzo injured . But does this mean that this world championship has less value for Marc? Not at all!
“It is certainly also the one that has the most value because it was the first. The truth is that Marquez risked a lot in the first race and got injured. But these are the races.”
MotoGP 2020 and the question of value…
Has the 2020 MotoGP World Championship lost something by not having Marc Marquez on the grid? Yes… but it hasn’t served to devalue it.
Regardless of whether you’re waving a #93 flag or curse each time he wins, Marquez is a remarkable sportsman consistently at the height of his abilities and by not being present it will always leave both an indelible mark and a question mark.
However, we can only speculate the title race would be as open as it is with him there - butterfly effect and all that… - so we should enjoy it for what it is.
After all, as Mir points out, Marquez injured himself racing. Certainly no ‘what ifs’ there because it happened, that was the result and this is the championship we have now. Full value and all.”
