Mir’s ‘no regrets’ approach gives Honda reason to replace him

A non-score over the Austin MotoGP weekend has left Joan Mir in a familiar place in the standings: adrift of Honda stablemates Luca Marini and Johann Zarco (and also rookie Diogo Moreira).A tyre calamity at Buriram skews the picture massively, and he can hardly be faulted for his zero at Goiania, where he was plainly unwell all weekend. But the two DNFs at COTA were Honda-spec Mir at his worst, an obviously rapid rider who just does not have a good enough handle on the bike.This can be acceptable, given Honda is still in its ‘rebuild’ phase and has at no point looked any better than the third- or fourth-best bike in MotoGP this year. But Mir’s approach to COTA s …