It’s a Jack Miller happy who has finished with his first day at Le Mans, a track which hosts the fifth meeting of the MotoGP season. And for good reason. The Australian takes the lead in the French Grand Prix before the weekend's hostilities. A performance that couldn't have come at a better time since the period is already open at Honda to renegotiate contracts...
At Honda, at the moment, every service counts double. Good or bad. And the competition is tough between the LCR team and Marc VDS Racing to keep the favor of HRC while the fight is just as fierce to know who will be the third official driver of the brand. For the moment, it is precisely Jack Miller. But he is reaching the end of his three-year lease.
Cal Crutchlow, from the satellite team opposite, is eyeing the position while within Marc VDS Racing itself, we are already moving forward Franco Morbidelli of Moto2. So it's time to Miller to assert oneself. And during this Friday, he showed that he had the profile to stay in the good books of the world's leading manufacturer.
In conditions quite similar to those of his success at Assen a year ago, Miller showed both audacity and opportunism. In the morning, he dared to use slick tires at the end of the course, which paid off. In the afternoon, he showed a calm face by settling for seventh place. Something to remember for everyone: “ In the morning, I was comfortable even with the rain tires. At the end, I fitted the slicks. The first two or three laps were tense then I dropped the times lap after lap ».
« I changed lines quite often as the conditions kept changing. But the bet was won. The weather didn't surprise me. It's like this here every year. During FP2, I drove with wet tires that were already 25 laps old and they pleasantly surprised me. In addition, the track and its new coating allow me to play on my strong point which is braking. I experienced a few alerts during the session and the bike was moving quite a bit. I didn't fit new tires, I already had the best time, it wasn't useful ».
A maturity and discernment always useful to highlight when negotiating your fate with your employer: “ I was not nervous this morning and not more stressed this afternoon. I feel good, I improve lap after lap. It was a good day. We'll see what tomorrow has in store for us with FP3. I hope it stays like this. The objective is to enter directly into Q.2 ».
The satisfaction of Miller is finally to this point shared by the Marc VDS team that the latter was not tests carried out on this same Le Mans track on May 2. The team did not have the means to wear out an engine for this test run. And here she is at the helm of the meeting…
#FrenchGP Le Mans J1: MotoGP Chronos
1. Jack Miller AUS Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 1m 37.467s
2. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 1m 38.755s +1.288s
3. Johann zarco ENG Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)*
1m 39.248s +1.781s
4. Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 1m 39.607s +2.140s
5. Loris Baz FRA Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP15) 1m 40.427s +2.960s
6. Karel Abraham CZE Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP15) 1m 40.528s +3.061s
7. Bradley Smith GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 1m 40.817s +3.350s
8. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 1m 40.894s +3.427s
9. Alvaro Bautista ESP Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 41.024s +3.557s
10. Maverick Vinales ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 1m 41.307s +3.840s
11. Andrea Iannone ITA Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)
1m 41.562s +4.095s
12. Jonas Folger GER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)*
1m 41.644s +4.177s
13. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 1m 41.854s +4.387s
14. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 1m 41.871s +4.404s
15. Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP17) 1m 41.887s +4.420s
16. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17)
1m 41.947s +4.480s
17. Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 42.040s +4.573s
18. Tito Rabat ESP Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 1m 42.094s +4.627s
19. Sam Lowes GBR Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)*
1m 42.243s +4.776s
20. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)
1m 42.891s +5.424s
21. Hector Barbera ESP Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 42.953s +5.486s
22. Alex Espargaro ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 1m 43.114s +5.647s
23. Espargaro Pol ESP Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 1m 43.519s +6.052s
