Jack Miller secured the double in qualifying for Ducati, finishing second behind teammate Pecco Bagnaia. An excellent result for the Australian, who will try to repeat his performance from last year when he won in France, especially if the rain continues during the race.
Number 43 answered questions from journalists during the post-qualifying press conference, and we transcribe his entire remarks here.
Jack, are you surprised by the burst of speed you were able to achieve in qualifying at Ducati?
« The times we set this morning were already incredible: the grip was there, and we could do what we wanted with the tires, which is all the more remarkable since we are at Le Mans, where there are many phases acceleration carried out on the angle. We almost had too much grip. But this afternoon the times were more difficult to achieve. I knew I could ride in the 1'30 window, but I also knew that having someone as a reference in front of me would help me, and in that sense Pecco Bagnaia was the perfect guy for that. We all pushed hard, but when I see the weather, it's really impressive. He took turn 6 leaving a mark on the ground all the way, barely missing the apex, it was really impressive to see. The pace has been very high since the start of the weekend, everyone is performing well. The fact of having repeatedly broken this track record which had stood for several years is also impressive, and I expect something like that also tomorrow in the race. It's a fantastic weekend, and it's great to see all these fans finally back. I'm not sure we'll sleep very well tonight, but whatever happens we should have a great day tomorrow! »
You have a very good burst of speed in the dry, but you showed last year that you are also very comfortable in a flag-to-flag race, which cannot be ruled out tomorrow. …
« In MotoGP you can change a lot of things, but not the weather. So there is no need to worry too much about this. We'll just adapt and take things as they come. If it rains, great, but if it doesn't rain it's better because it's less stressful. But having done what we did today will make it easier for us tomorrow. Especially since here it seems difficult to overtake, because you can come behind a driver who is two seconds slower than you, and still have difficulty overtaking him. So imagine overtaking a driver who is doing the same times as you... it's very difficult. »
The 46 will be removed from the available numbers during the next round at Mugello. Would you like to see your own number retired one day? That would be a good sign...
« Number 46 can be removed… unlike mine which never will be, I can almost guarantee that! I'm not Valentino Rossi, so I don't have to worry too much about that. »
Are you hoping for rain or at the very least a flag-to-flag race tomorrow?
«
No flag-to-flag racing, because that's too much stress. It's much better if the situation is clear: racing on a dry or wet track. But like I said earlier, you can't control the weather. »
During these first two days of competition we saw a lot of straight on in the first corner, which is quite dangerous at that point [the drivers go straight and are forced to keep speed off-road to avoid not get bogged down in the gravel, ultimately cutting off the first chicane at high speed]. Do you think it would be better to have asphalt there instead of gravel?
« It's true that the situation is not easy there, because you try to take as much of the track as possible to have the best possible trajectory. But it's not easy because today for example I touched the brakes while I was on a white line and I immediately lost the front. But if you put asphalt there you will inevitably have to push the wall back 200 meters. All I can say, having already crashed twice this weekend, is that this Le Mans circuit has very good gravel. I'm serious when I say this, because my guys in the garage did an absolute miracle by putting my bike back on its feet after my accident in turn 7, a place where you don't really want to crash... If that had happened in Jerez or Portimão, where the gravel is much heavier it would have been a different story, both for me and for the bike. In the end we are on a circuit, so there will always be dangerous places. But here I found myself off-road twice and I never had to get off the bike thanks to the quality of the gravel: each time I simply controlled my machine as best I could with the rear brake , to then return to the route quite safely. »
During your last stint in Q2 we saw you driving together. Was this planned?
« There was no plan. I just kept an eye on the Pecco team and as soon as I saw them busy I quickly got back on my bike. »
You have just stated that it was quite difficult to overtake here, whereas a few years ago the drivers had the radically opposite view. Should we expect it to be more and more difficult to overtake in the premier category from now on?
« The championship is like this at the moment: we see a lot of drivers crashing, a lot of drivers coming into contact. This is to be expected when you have so many bikes at such a good level. I'm not complaining, because I'm on the front line. I just hope to get off to a good start. »
The level of the GP22 seems to be getting stronger and stronger, GP after GP. Did you find anything special, either in the settings or the overall balance of the bike?
« Personally, this is what I expected at the start of the season. When you bring something completely new, after years of riding the same bike, it's bound to change. Change isn't a bad thing, it just takes time for you to understand your new hardware. It takes time to develop new things. It's like when you come back to a track you haven't ridden on for two years. I think we will see the full potential of the bike gradually revealed, before having a new machine again at the end of the year. That's how it works. »
