Marco Bezzecchi
Only three MotoGP riders outside the top 15 in the world championship have secured contracts for the 2027 season.
For two of them, there are obvious excuses. LCR’s Johann Zarco (17th) has missed the last five weekends through injury, and MotoGP debutant Toprak Razgatlioglu (21st) is riding the slowest bike on the grid at Pramac Yamaha.
The exception is Honda’s Joan Mir, who has signed for Gresini Ducati even though he sits 18th in the standings at the halfway point of the season.
A few expected names top the mid-season crash list, but which rider is the biggest surprise? 🤔
Joan Mir currently leads the grid for the most crashes in 2026! 💥
Why Joan Mir is very fortunate to land a Gresini seat
Mir’s position in the standings isn’t representative of his speed. His problem, as is well-established, is crashing.
The Spaniard has failed to finish exactly half of the 22 races so far (including Sprints). Inevitably, he tops the pre-summer break crash leaderboard.
Mir’s philosophy is that, with Honda fourth in the pecking order, he has nothing to lose. By contrast, teammate Luca Marini is seen as one of the steadiest hands on the grid.
Mir has more pace than Marini – as evidenced by his 10-1 record in the qualifying head-to-head – but he has only scored around a quarter of Honda’s points (26 out of 105). LCR rookie Diogo Moreira has almost doubled his tally (48 vs 26).
A few expected names top the mid-season crash list, but which rider is the biggest surprise? 🤔
Joan Mir currently leads the grid for the most crashes in 2026! 💥
Worryingly, when the #36 has seen the chequered flag, he has only been in the top 10 five times. He trails Marini 5-3 in the races where both have been classified.
Some are sympathetic to Mir’s all-or-nothing approach, but a rider ultimately has to be judged on points. He ranked third among the four Honda riders last year and, remarkably, is fourth this season despite Zarco’s absences.
“It’s a make-or-break year for Joan Mir next year,” TNT’s Neil Hodgson said recently. “And I genuinely hope it all works out. I just think he’s lucky; he has been lucky to get the deal.”
That’s why it’s a surprise that Mir has been offered such a coveted seat for 2027. Yes, he has lost his factory status, but Gresini have finished above Honda every single year under their current guise.
Perhaps Honda will finally make their vast resources count under the new regulations, but there are already rumours that Ducati are bullish about their 2027 project. In effect, Mir has failed upwards.
He may be a world champion, but it’s hard to remember the last time he rode like one consistently.
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