Upon his arrival at KTM after several years with Ducati, Jack Miller had to go through a natural adaptation process to the team and a motorcycle that was very different from what he was used to. As a result, his results and performances throughout 2023 were somewhat inconsistent, but now he seems to be definitively finding a good path.

Asked in a press conference whether he feels he is close to slot the last piece of the puzzle with the Mattighofen-based manufacturer, the Australian confirmed:

– Definetely. Already in Motegi we had great pace in the sprint race in the dry and then of course with the race in the wet being cut short I felt I had more left to give in that race. And Indonesia was probably my best showing this year in terms of low grip tracks. So, I feel quitely confident for the weekend, but there is lots of fast guys on the grid, lots of fast bikes. So, we’ll try our best to match this boys.

O conteúdo Jack Miller feels he is close to the last step with KTM aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Jack Miller had a very promising start to the weekend at his home circuit, but ended up qualifying only in 8th position this morning, managing to finish the race one position higher, in 7th place.

Speaking at the end of the race, the Australian rider said he felt good during the race, showing that it was difficult to manage the tires during the race:

– I felt good about the race. We wanted a little more, but that’s what we had today. I felt reasonably strong all weekend, especially in the middle of the circuit, in sector 2 and 3 I felt good. The last sector, especially in the race, I was trying to control the rear at the exit of turns 11 and 12, but I was having a bit of a lack of support at the front and I wasn’t able to let the bike loose during the corner as I would have liked and I was a bit slow on corner entry and then I had to be a bit slow on the exit so I didn’t ruin the rear tyre.

Miller also agreed with his teammate when it came to cold air and the influence of that on the front tyre:

– Definitely Brad’s comments are mine, about the fresh air in the front tyre and being in the slipstream, as something that makes a difference. But overall, it was positive. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow, hopefully in the Sprint race. (…) The tyre kept getting colder and cooler and that helped to keep the tyre temperature when (Alex) Marquez and Aleix (Espargaro) passed me at the end of the race.

Finally, the #43 was hopeful about the change in weather conditions for tomorrow, hoping that it will be possible to carry out the sprint race:

– I feel sad for the Australian fans, but this is the risk of running here. We’ve had the best venue for motorcycle racing for the last three days, but the irony of that is that it also turns around very fast. That’s why it’s keeping your fingers crossed. We’re all freaking out, but it could be the typical one at Phillip Island and the exact opposite of what is predicted, but we’ll have to wait and see.

O conteúdo ‘We wanted a little more, but that’s what we had today’ – Jack Miller aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

What a thrill, what suspense until the last second at Phillip Island with Johann Zarco finally winning in MotoGP! Since 2017 in the category, Zarco had a race in crescendo and in the end gave no margin to anyone to get to the front of the race on the last lap where he won. Jorge Martín looked like he was in a horror film after leading until literally the last lap where he didn’t even finish on the podium!

Everything is in place for the start of MotoGP’s main race, given the changes to the calendar announced on Friday. 18ºC at Phillip Island, last-minute tyre changes, and plenty of excitement for sure in the race.

Martín had the best start and stayed in front, but the highlight was the home rider, Jack Miller, who gained four positions in no time! On the following lap, however, the Australian began to lose positions and dropped to sixth, while Fabio Di Giannantonio made his way down… climbing to fourth after beating Francesco Bagnaia.

In just three laps Martín gained more than 1s on second, Brad Binder, but the question was: how would the #89’s soft rear tyre hold up?

Marc Márquez, meanwhile, overtook Miller and climbed to sixth position, and it wasn’t long before he was in the top five, beating Johann Zarco. The Frenchman responded shortly afterwards and retook fifth place, which worked in Bagnaia’s favour.

The fight was such that Márquez overtook again, but Zarco returned the manoeuvre. 0.487s separated the #5 from the #1. Martín led by 1.668s over Binder, who was slightly faster than the Prima Pramac Racing rider for the moment.

Meanwhile, Pramac sent a message, literally, to Martín: “Breathe”, reminiscent of what happened last week when the rider crashed while 3s ahead of second. However… Martín didn’t slow down and continued to set a frantic pace and after nine laps he was already 2.391s ahead of Binder.

Joan Mir crashed at turn 4 after battling with Luca Marini on lap 10. The Spaniard nevertheless picked up his motorbike and returned to the race, but… only for a short time. The Repsol Honda rider abandoned shortly afterwards.

That was the top ten with 13 laps completed:

The next to “taste” the asphalt was Augusto Fernández who, with 12 laps to go, ended his race after crashing.

Martín was still very strong in the lead and 3.461s ahead of Binder, with Di Giannantonio 3.625s behind the #89. Bagnaia was 1.032s behind the fourth-placed rider and Zarco remained fifth.

At any moment it was expected that DiGia would overtake Binder, 0.045s away but with the gap constantly changing. Both riders had the same tyre selection. With nine laps to go, the overtake was confirmed and DiGia, still without a place on the grid for 2024, was second!

The race was entering a decisive phase and already inside the last straight and Martín was a figurehead as he led with a gap of 3.125s over DiGia. However, out of nowhere, Martín saw the #49 gain 0.4s on him and anything could still happen.

Bagnaia’s life was complicated as he was overtaken by Zarco and dropped to fifth place.

This was the top ten: Martín, DiGia, Binder, Zarco, Bagnaia, Álex Márquez, Aleix Espargaró, Jack Miller, Marco Bezzecchi and Marc Márquez.

Binder still had something up his sleeve and moved into second place. 0.8s separated fifth from second.

With three laps to go Martín was losing considerable time and “only” 1.649s separated Binder from the lead, at a time when Zarco was moving up to third!

With two laps to go, Zarco saw the light at the end of the tunnel and climbed to second place, with Martín 0.955s behind. Bagnaia, meanwhile, was also giving it his all and was third.

On the last lap Martín had… 0.4s on Zarco and the Frenchman, with his pace… moved into the lead! And not only that! Bagnaia also passed the Spaniard and was soon in third.

Martín lost positions again and in one lap he went from first to fifth, with Brad Binder also overtaking him!

And victory! Finally Johann Zarco could win in MotoGP seven years after joining the category! Di Giannantonio finished on the podium.

O conteúdo Seven years later, here it is: Johann Zarco makes his MotoGP winning debut! Martín went from heaven to hell; Di Giannantonio on the podium aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

On a strong Friday for the Red Bull KTM team, Jack Miller was the second fastest in the Australian MotoGP practice session. He was just behind his teammate Brad Binder, in an encouraging start to his home round.

The Australian rider confirmed it was a good Friday for him: ‘It was a great day. I can’t ever complain when we get to Phillip Island with this sort of weather conditions, not having to worry with the wind or a frozen tyre into turn four. I’m pretty happy with the day and the bike is working well. It got better in every exit. I was able to throw a decent time in the end and most importantly going directly to the Q2. So it’s the best way to start the weekend’.

Regarding the reasons for KTM performing exceptionally well at Phillip Island, Miller explained: ‘I think the rear grip that we’ve been able to find in the last couple of Grand Prixes has really helped us here. And it’s what I’ve said all the year: the way this bike is through the high speed changes of direction is pretty agile, and you are able to find your line pretty well. It’s working pretty good so far, so fingers crossed we can just keep that trajectory going and give it to these boys tomorrow’.

O conteúdo ‘The bike is pretty agile through the high speed changes of direction’ – Jack Miller aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Australia has given MotoGP champions like Casey Stoner, Mick Doohan, and Wayne Gardner, but currently, the grid of the premier class has only one Australian rider: Jack Miller. Even in the lower categories, the situation isn’t much more encouraging, with only Senna Agius (Moto2) and Jacob Roulstone (Moto3) confirmed in the 2024 paddock.

Despite this, Miller is not concerned about the future of Australians in MotoGP. The Red Bull KTM rider said in a press conference that there has always been a presence of compatriots, and he believes that nowadays it’s easier for Australians to succeed in motorcycle racing:

– There are guys coming true. It’s always been though, there was always a lack of Aussies, I guess you can say. But in the big scheme I think we’ve always had more or less somebody there – some better than others. But, yeah. It’s always the way. It’s a long way away from everywhere else in the world and it is extra hard. But there is a lot of young talent: Senna, Joel, Roulstone and a few others – even doing well in the Rookies Cup. So there is a lot of talent coming up through this side of the world and I think now more than ever is easier with the Asian Talent Cup, and then of course the Rookies Cup and the programs like that, it’s easier.

O conteúdo Jack Miller isn’t worried with the lack of Aussies in MotoGP: ‘Now more than ever is easier’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

After today’s Sprint race there was another crash that missed the eyes of those watching at home, and not only, as Jack Miller told the press about the incident to the reports present, saying with a smile on his face that he only ‘hurt’ his ego.

You can see the australian rider from KTM telling the reports about the incident and commentating it with Maverick Viñales:

O conteúdo Video: Jack Miller tells reveals he crashed… after the race: ‘I’m ok, I only hurt my ego’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Marc Marquez has been vocal about the uncertainty surrounding his future, stating that it keeps him up at night and has been a significant source of stress. Contrary to what some might think, he doesn’t find the situation amusing. However, some of his colleagues seem to believe otherwise. Alex Rins has previously suggested that the eight-time World Champion is “playing” with the paddock regarding his 2024 plans. Meanwhile, Pecco Bagnaia’s light-hearted “bye bye Honda” comment during a press conference added to the playful atmosphere around the topic. But it wasn’t just Bagnaia; Cal Crutchlow and Jack Miller also joined in the banter.

As Marquez’s future remains uncertain, it has become a topic of jest, especially as the resolution seems to drag on. During the Japanese Grand Prix, Marquez’s fellow riders took the opportunity to tease him. A notable exchange took place on social media between Marquez and Jack Miller. The Australian rider posed the ever-recurring question about Marquez’s 2024 destination. Marquez cheekily responded with “your place,” hinting at potential plans for 2025. Miller retorted that Marquez could keep his spot and that he (Miller) would be heading home.

However, perhaps the most amusing interaction came from Cal Crutchlow during the riders’ parade. Crutchlow asked Marquez if he was familiar with the iconic song by The Clash, “Should I Stay or Should I Go.” This brought a hearty laugh from Marquez.

O conteúdo VIDEO: Cal Crutchlow to Marc Márquez: ‘ Should I Stay or Should I Go ‘ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Jack Miller set the pace in the warm-up for the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix. The final practice session before the race in Motegi was marked by mixed track conditions following overnight rain.

After the initial flying laps, the Australian rider from Red Bull KTM was already the fastest. He was briefly overtaken by Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) but quickly responded. In a series of four fast laps, Miller posted the best time in the warm-up: 1m46.047s.

Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda) also overtaken Quartararo, finishing in second place, 0.497s behind the leader. Quartararo took third, followed by Augusto Fernández (GasGas Tech3/KTM) and Raúl Fernández (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team/Aprilia) in the top five.

Jorge Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati), the winner of the sprint race, finished seventh, just ahead of Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) – the championship leader.

Timesheets:

O conteúdo Jack Miller dominated the warm-up in Motegi aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing has been in the spotlight at the Japanese Grand Prix with good results, including the best lap on the circuit achieved by Brad Binder, and also the second place achieved in the Sprint by the South African driver.

Complementing those good results from the #33, Jack Miller also managed a second-place finish in Q2 and a solid 4th-place finish at Saturday’s Spritn. In a debrief, Miller was pleased with his performance, stating that he tried everything to stop the attack of the world champion, Francesco Bagnaia:

– Yes, qualifying went well, the bike is working well. The Sprint was going well, I was able to make a good start and the bike was working well, but then I saw that I was starting to have some problems at the front and right from a very early on I was pulling, and needing to work on my lines, especially in Turn 5 I was losing some time to the boys. So I had to push harder at the back of the circuit and I started to have a few moments with the front. I knew Pecco was there, I was just trying to make the ride as physical as possible, try not to open up too much and try to block as much as I could. I almost managed to do it all the way, but as I started to get off the inside straight, I started to feel the front sweeping … It was a good race, it was good to be back in the fight with these guys.

The #43 also stated that KTM is likely to suffer a drop in performance earlier than its rivals, while maintaining a stable performance until the end, which allows for better management of the race until the end:

– The tendency of KTM is to have a break a little bit before the other bikes, but then we stabilized and managed to manage a little better than the other bikes, so I feel. I feel like the others didn’t have that break like we did, but it shouldn’t take long, so we’ll see how tomorrow’s long race goes. There are some things we can work on with my riding. With the bike it’s just a little, but quite happy for today.

Finally, after an indirect question about his continuity at KTM and whether this result was important to remind Mattighofen officials of the Australian driver’s capabilities, Miller was clear:

– They don’t need to be reminded. There’s a reason they hired me, there’s a reason I’m here…

O conteúdo ‘There’s a reason they hired me’ – Jack Miller aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Jack Miller and Francesco Bagnaia had one of the most intense battles of the day in the Sprint race of the Japanese Grand Prix. The reigning world champion ended up beating his former teammate, on the KTM this year, only towards the end.

Even before that, the riders had been battling on several occasions with almost no distance between them.

Bagnaia eventually got the better of the #43, but there were many moments of fierce fighting between the two, as you can see in the video below:

O conteúdo Video: «Friendship stays out of the track» – Bagnaia vs Miller in Japan aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.