Title race not a Mir formality despite Valencia result

Joan Mir declared he was "living a dream" after victory at the European Grand Prix pushed him to the brink of championship glory - but insisted there is still work to do yet.

Mir claimed a long-awaited maiden MotoGP™ race win as he finished ahead of Suzuki Ecstar colleague Alex Rins, giving the team their first 1-2 finish since 1982.

The result, coupled with a disappointing outing for rival Fabio Quartararo, leaves the Spaniard 37 points clear in the standings with just two rounds of the 2020 season remaining.

A place on the podium at next week's Valencia Grand Prix will be enough to seal the title, though the leader is refusing to take anything for granted.

"I'm living a dream at the moment," Mir said in his post-race interview with BT Sport.

"Now it looks like we have quite a lot of points in terms of distance, so we will have to see how I will manage the next race.

"For sure, it will be difficult. There are a lot of riders who are so strong, but we are strong too. I'm not worried."

Rain had been an issue for the riders during the previous two days, yet there were no issues with the weather for Sunday's race.

Mir capitalised on an error from Rins to seize the lead after a fall for Quartararo left the Frenchman at the back of the field. He would finish in 14th place, enough for just two championship points.

"I am super happy about all the weekend, especially because all of the different conditions," Mir said of the performance from the team. "It was really difficult to be competitive in all of them.

"This morning I felt really good on the bike and was able to ride in a good way. I was able to find something for the race and we had something more than the others.

"I'm so happy, because we won the race in a good way, not because other riders made mistakes."

Rins, who had claimed the lead from polesitter Pol Espargaro in the early stages, is now tied with Quartararo for second place in the standings.

While catching his compatriot in top spot is a tall order with races running out, an in-form Rins is refusing to give up hope.

"We know it's a bit far away, but we can still try," Rins said.

"The next races we will give 100 per cent to try and finish on the podium, to try and recover points, but if not we need to be very happy for the season."