After shining brilliantly during the Portuguese Grand Prix, Jack Miller was particularly verbose when arriving at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit for the Argentine Grand Prix.
Never having his tongue in his pocket, he not only gave his point of view on what we can call “the Marc affair Márquez“, but also shared his great joy at having performed on the Portimão track, a performance which even takes on a certain taste of revenge…
Jack Miller : " It was a positive weekend overall. From the first round on Friday, we took a big step forward compared to the test. As you said, we showed our speed on Friday and then confirmed it in the Sprint. The Sprint was the first time I did more than... It was the most laps I had done on the KTM up to that point, so it was the first time I I did 12 laps, and then the Sunday race was the first time I did more than 20. It was really an unknown weekend, I didn't really know what to expect, especially since we were very busy during the offseason. But the team put together an amazing package, a really competitive package for me at race time and we were able to do what we do best, which is run. It was a lot of fun, watching the race again gives me a great feeling of nostalgia. Looking back on 2014, wearing the Alpinestars and riding the KTM, I felt young again, even though I'm starting to get quite old now. It was awesome, an incredible fight. »
« Like I said, I enjoyed being with Pecco and the boys, and being able to at least play with them for a lap or two in the Sprint. The race pace was pretty decent, it ran out of steam towards the end due to a small costly mistake, but I was able to understand what the power of a Ducati is when you are an opponent in the race. This can be a little frustrating. Álex had a fantastic race, Brad and I gave him everything we could. To start the year like that, with all the changes we've made, it's been a busy offseason. Moving to a WP suspension, a steel chassis, a new engine, a new chassis, I mean we haven't been idle. The team worked hard, I was at home like an ant on a farm preparing for the season. They did a fantastic job and it's great to be here so early. Looking back, it's probably one of my most competitive starts to a year in MotoGP, and I've had all these different changes, so hopefully it's a sign of things to come. »
« The race was really interesting on Sunday, I was just starting to understand how the bike reacted. You do laps in training, but she's constantly going in and out, and doing a slow lap here and there. So it's about doing regular laps with the tire and understanding how the bike works with the tire, and what is the area where the tire starts to degrade first. I was really surprised by the rear tire and how much life it gave me because as we approached the halfway mark I was giving it a bit of a hard time trying to stay in Marco's wake. I wondered if this tire was going to fall off the edge of the cliff. But he stayed pretty strong, and to be honest I had a bit more to give at the end, but like I said I couldn't find a way to overtake Álex for a long time. But it was just a huge boost to my confidence, to understand that you have this life and that you can actually grow a little more when you need to. »
« I appreciated Pecco's confidence, because we knew he would surpass both of us! It was fun to hear the guys' comments. I think the soft front surprised everyone. I think I'll be able to transpose what I did on the Ducati onto the KTM, then I think it's recognized that only the hardest thing in the allowance can ride, and be able to put it ( the soft tire) and to do 12 laps like that, it was good. I think everyone around the world, I don't know what it is, still somehow thinks that I got here and I was lucky to do this job . I'm doubted more than anyone on this grid, and being able to prove countless people wrong again was incredible and gave me extra strength. I think the guys, like everyone else, were surprised to see me there and, you know, it gives me an incredible sense of accomplishment to already be there and be able to challenge these guys and prove to so many people are already wrong: It's great! »
