During the last Austrian Grand Prix, he was the one who was going to have to give up his place within a Pramac team which was going to hand over its Ducati to Jorge Lorenzo. A scenario that did not happen and his new contract was subsequently signed. Here we are at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix. And the Australian shows the decision-makers at Borgo Panigale what he's up to. Here he is third and, by far, the Ducati rider who has made the strongest impression so far...
With a Dovizioso seventh and one Petrucci ninth, it's nothing to say that Jack Miller could appreciate his third place synonymous with first row at the end of the MotoGP qualifying. An impeccable course that technical incidents did not even disrupt. The Austrian farce seems to have transformed Miller. The 24-year-old rider is getting along better and better with the Ducati GP19…
« I had a technical problem in FP3, but thanks to the help of the marshals, I quickly returned to the pits. I had the soft rear tire on the bike. But when I got out the problems on the bike started, I had to let the machine ride in the gravel. I had to return to the pits, but unfortunately the way is very long. The marshals brought me back to the pit very quickly. Some of these guys attacked the lap record today, that's for sure... »
« I then jumped on the other bike, it had an older chassis, which worked very well, although I haven't ridden this bike since the Brno test. In the afternoon, during FP4, I couldn't do as many laps as I hoped. I had another technical problem and then I had to wait until the broken bike was back in the pits ».
On his qualifications, he comments: “ it was entertaining with Marc and Vale in Q2. I knew Marc desperately wanted pole. He was in second place until then, he never likes that. So I knew he had a pretty good ride. And luckily I was able to follow him ».
On Sunday, 20 heat laps will have to be faced at a temperature of 30 degrees. “ I used the hard front tire in FP4, Friday too, it's not my favorite tire, but it's a good choice for racing I think. He feels good. The hard rear tire is also mandatory because the Silverstone circuit is brutal on the rear tires. Most drivers on the grid will be on hard tires. I feel semi-confident. But the Yamaha looks strong. And when I look at Marc's pace since FP4, it was pretty depressing ».
He ends by talking about his relationship with Silverstone. “ This year it's okay and it's certainly due to the disappearance of the bumps “, declares the Ducati rider. “ Until now, you always had to worry about your teeth falling out. This danger no longer exists. Additionally, the Ducati has plenty of grip in fast and long corners. This is also a factor that is favorable to me now ».
MotoGP British Grand Prix Silverstone J2: times
| 1 | 93 | Marc MÁRQUEZ | Honda | 1'58.168 | ||
| 2 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | 1'58.596 | 0.428 | 0.428 |
| 3 | 43 | Jack Miller | Ducati | 1'58.602 | 0.434 | 0.006 |
| 4 | 20 | Fabio QUARTARARO | Yamaha | 1'58.612 | 0.444 | 0.010 |
| 5 | 42 | Alex RINS | Suzuki | 1'58.670 | 0.502 | 0.058 |
| 6 | 12 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | 1'58.762 | 0.594 | 0.092 |
| 7 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | 1'58.762 | 0.594 | |
| 8 | 21 | Frank MORBIDELLI | Yamaha | 1'59.096 | 0.928 | 0.334 |
| 9 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda | 1'59.243 | 1.075 | 0.147 |
| 10 | 30 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | Honda | 1'59.427 | 1.259 | 0.184 |
| 11 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | 1'59.487 | 1.319 | 0.060 |
| 12 | 41 | Aleix ESPARGARÓ | Aprilia | 1'59.620 | 1.452 | 0.133 |
| Q1 Results: | ||||||
| Q2 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | 1'58.944 | ||
| Q2 | 42 | Alex RINS | Suzuki | 1'59.190 | 0.246 | 0.246 |
| 13 | 44 | Pol ESPARGARÓ | KTM | 1'59.549 | 0.605 | 0.359 |
| 14 | 5 | johann zarco | KTM | 1'59.648 | 0.704 | 0.099 |
| 15 | 88 | Miguel OLIVEIRA | KTM | 1'59.758 | 0.814 | 0.110 |
| 16 | 53 | Tito RABAT | Ducati | 1'59.916 | 0.972 | 0.158 |
| 17 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | Aprilia | 2'00.240 | 1.296 | 0.324 |
| 18 | 63 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati | 2'00.362 | 1.418 | 0.122 |
| 19 | 50 | Sylvain GUINTOLI | Suzuki | 2'00.660 | 1.716 | 0.298 |
| 20 | 55 | Hafiz Syahrin | KTM | 2'00.700 | 1.756 | 0.040 |
| 21 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | Honda | 2'01.562 | 2.618 | 0.862 |
| 22 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | 2'04.845 | 5.901 | 3.283 |
