Jack Miller takes stock of his first season as an official KTM rider; and looks to the future both personally and professionally.
About
Jack Miller showed in this interview his most human side, beyond the pilot MotoGP. The Australian has always been characterized by the fact that he does not mince his words. His open-mindedness and naturalness, in addition to his talent, make Miller one of the essentials in the MotoGP paddock.
Jack, a very simple question to start: give yourself a rating for this season…
“From one to ten? Five. Because we wanted more. As a driver, unless you win every race, you always want more. We did some things well; But there are certain areas in which I would have liked to do better. »
“I thought it was going to be better than it was. »
Speaking of adaptation, it seems that it was quite quick, given what happened in Jerez for example…
“Yes, if you look at Jerez, it was a fantastic weekend for all of us. But also in Portimao, in the first race of the Championship, I did very well in my first outing with the bike. I was also very fast in the United States; I felt capable of challenging Álex [Rins] for the race victory. Unfortunately, it wasn't possible, I fell too early. There were a few mistakes, I thought it was going to be better than it was; but either I fell or made other mistakes. That's why I feel like a five is a good rating. “Not much, not little. »
Being so competitive from the start of the season, does that mean that with KTM you immediately found something that you felt comfortable with?
“The truth is, no. Because if you look at the pre-season tests, overall I wasn't comfortable. I was learning and spending hours understanding the bike; what I had to change in my riding to adapt to it, and what I had to change on the bike to adapt it more to my riding. When I got on the bike, I discovered something that seemed incredible to me. This is something that happens sometimes, but certainly not very often. On these motorcycles, everything depends on the millimeter; so when you change brands, everything seems strange. »
“They pay me to ride these motorcycles forty-four times a year”
How did you get the Portimão thing?
" While working. Working through the winter, working hard and trying to understand the bike more and more and make it my own. We managed to do it very early, and then we could say that we had reached the ceiling. Over the course of a full season, the level constantly rises, all the drivers gain more and more confidence and feel more and more comfortable. In my case, I felt good again on the Asian tour, starting from Japan. When everything is new, you try to discover new things. And it's hard to find that boost that gives you that little extra boost of confidence. »
You say the more you know about motorcycling the better, so does forty-four races a season sound good to you?
" Of course. Now I'm tired, but that's what they pay me for: to ride these motorcycles forty-four times a year. »
The difference in opinions between MotoGP riders is interesting. Quartararo, for example, says sprint races should be avoided...
" Exact. I don't come home all season to sit on my couch in Andorra, cycle, run or do this or that. I come to ride motorcycles, it's what I like to do. For me, the more races we do, the quicker the year ends. Because the more races we have, the fewer free weeks there are to sit in Andorra, cycle or do all that. It's boring for us, as foreigners. “Don’t get me wrong, I have Brad there and he’s nice, but he’s not my family. »
“When I lost the Championship to Alex Márquez, I spent a lot of time blaming everyone except myself”
Pol Espargaró said that the motorcycle he found when he returned from his injury was completely different from the one in Portimao; more similar to the Ducati. What was your influence on the development of the motorcycle?
“You only need to take a photo of my bike from last year and compare it with this year's to understand how much we have influenced the bike. They are almost the same in terms of geometry. Obviously, the components are still KTM style. But to be able to race at MotoGP level in 2023, this was the direction we had to take; especially in aerodynamics. To be able to compete with eight Ducatis, you need something to fight them. »
Regarding the tire pressure monitoring system and its influence on the results, how about the possibility of being able to eliminate a certain number of results? This would also help injured pilots return home more peacefully...
" I do not believe. I understand that some tires are worse than others, that's a fact. This also happens if you are planning to buy a car or something else. When people make things by hand, there will always be differences. There are so many variables that I don't think it's correct to blame just one tire.
I struggled a lot when I lost the championship to Alex Márquez, and I spent a lot of time blaming everyone but myself. It took me a while to realize that it was really me who lost the championship to him, and no one else. It was my fault. I made stupid mistakes. Sometimes it's hard in this world to admit that things aren't going well. But everyone has a day when the tire goes bad. Sometimes this happens in FP2, and other times in the race. »
“You have to want to get into the box every day”
In an interview with Dovizioso, I asked him which teammates he would like to have in a MotoGP team. He replied that, certainly, it would be Jack Miller…
“The perception of me can be different from one person to another. A lot of people think I'm a crazy Australian. But at the end of the day, you often have to be with people (to know them). At the end of the day, it's your family (the team), because you're away (from home) a lot. So you have to want to get into the box every day. You learn not to cause problems when you don't have to. It's my character, I want everyone to like it. Creating problems is not a solution. »
Will we see a better Jack Miller than we've seen so far?
" I think so. The results may not reflect it, but I feel like I'm improving every year and getting stronger and stronger; physically and mentally. I am twenty eight years old ; I feel like my best years are yet to come. This comes with maturity, work, strategy in general. I learned from my mistakes, these are things you can remember and use to become a better person. »
Read the original article on Motosan.es
