Moto3 championship leader Joan Mir has signed a three-year deal with the Marc VDS outfit to step up to the Moto2 class next season.
Mir made his world championship debut in 2015 with the Leopard team as a replacement for the injured Hiroki Ono at Phillip Island, and impressively ran inside the top 10 before unfortunately crashing out.
Making his full-time debut last season, Mir ended the year fifth in the standings and as top rookie, the Spaniard also securing his first grand prix victory at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
Mir has made an exceptional start to his 2017 campaign, the Spaniard winning back-to-back in Qatar and Argentina, following that up with a win in France and in Sunday’s 22-lap Catalunya grand prix. As a result, Mir holds a healthy 45-point advantage in the championship standings.
“We’ve had our eye on Joan for quite some time, first in CEV and then in Moto3 when he made his debut in the World Championship,” Marc VDS team principal Michael Bartholemy said.
“We saw right at the start of last year that he had the talent, drive and determination to be a championship contender and he’s proved us right this season.
“I am looking forward to welcoming him into the team and I am confident that the combination of his talent and our technical staff will ensure a smooth and rapid transition from Moto3 championship contender to Moto2 frontrunner.”
The Marc VDS team currently lead the way in the Moto2 teams’ standings, while its leading rider Franco Morbidelli is 13 points clear in the world championship with four wins to his credit.
Mir’s signing does add fuel to speculation of Morbidelli stepping up to the MotoGP class with the Belgian squad for next year, the Italian strongly rumoured to replace 2014 Marc VDS Moto2 champion Tito Rabat in the premier class.
