MotoGP Test Sepang J1 Jack Miller: “Most of the improvements we tried were positive”

After finishing in thirteenth position last year in the MotoGP World Championship on a Ducati GP17 from the Pramac Racing team, Miller moved up the ranks this year and, like the factory team riders Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci, has a GP19 brand new. He is now leader of his team, and leader of the young Francesco Bagnaia, fresh from Moto2 where he has just won the world title, and who has a Desmosedici GP18.

Miller's season is oriented along two axes: he must develop the GP 19 alongside the official drivers, and he must prove that he will be able to be part of the factory structure alongside Dovizioso in 2020. His opponents in this area are Danilo Petrucci et Francis Bagnaia.

On the tire side, Michelin offered each driver an allocation very similar to that provided for the last Malaysian Grand Prix for these three days of testing. Three new tires are being offered to the teams, who have already used them during the three days of burn-in last weekend: a new medium-hard front compound, as well as two rear tires (one medium and one soft) using the new technology introduced occasionally in 2018 to improve grip and consistency.

At midday, Jack Miller was in the top 10, in ninth position:

Jack finally finished this first day in eleventh position with a time of 2'00.383, 0.762 behind leader Marc Marquez.

The Australian declared at the end of these tests “ I feel good, although I had a problem with the first bike in the form of a small fall, earlier at the end of the day. I jumped on the second bike, which was the plan anyway, but I had some problems with that machine, which didn't allow me to put in a fast lap at the end.

“Today’s test was positive overall. We found a couple of interesting things. We still need to work on the basic settings, but I think we are already at a good level. However, we can still improve. At the end of the season, you sometimes think you have the best setting, only to realize at the start of the following year that it can be even better.

“We still have a lot of things to try, on the fuel tank for example. Most of the improvements we've tried have been positive, so I think we'll continue to use them. We have a long list of things to try for tomorrow and the day after, so testing is far from over and we still have a lot of work to do.

“It is very appreciable for us to have the support of the factory. They already supported us last year, and we appreciated their advice as they appreciated our comments. It's a good way of working and I really enjoy my collaboration with them. »

From the depths of the Australian bush to MotoGP victory

It was in dirt track and motocross that the turbulent son of the Miller family made his debut. After winning six Australian titles, he then turned to asphalt racing at age 14 in Tasmania, gaining numerous successes. His career continued in Europe, where Miller won the IDM 125cc Championship in 3 at just 2011 years old, made five GP wild cards and was rewarded with his move to the Moto16 World Championship the following season on a Honda with Caretta Technology.

In 2014, Miller finished second in the Moto3 World Championship with the Red Bull KTM Ajo team in which he fought for the world title until the last race. He finished just two points behind Álex Márquez.

After moving straight to MotoGP in 2015, Miller joined the Marc VDS team and took his first MotoGP victory on June 26 at the Dutch Grand Prix, a race characterized by a double start due to rain, after overtaking Marc Márquez who finished second. This is the first victory for a private driver since that of Toni Elias in October 2006 at Estoril in Portugal, 0.002 ahead of Valentino Rossi. In 2017, Jack finished the season in eleventh place with 82 points.

The 2018 season will also be remembered for the legendary pole position won by Jack in Argentina. The Australian took out the slick tires while the circuit was still wet and took first place in qualifying, then closed the Grand Prix in fourth position after holding the lead for a long time. This will be his best result with the fourth place obtained in France. Jack Miller finished the 2018 season in 13th place with 91 points.

Results of the first day of testing:

Reference times:

Official testing record (pole position): 1'59.053 by Dani Pedrosa (Honda) on 24/10/2015

Unofficial record: 1'58.830 by Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati) during tests on 30/01/2018

Lap record (in the race): 2'00.606 by Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) on 25/10/2015

Photos © Alma Pramac Racing