Jack Miller
Ducati Lenovo Team driver Jack Miller wondered what could have been after a mistake in his final qualifying at the Qatar Grand Prix.
While teammate Francesco Bagnaia brought his Desmosedici GP21 to pole position for the opening race of the 2021 season, Miller was only able to achieve the fifth fastest time.
That was even though he was the fastest rider in FP2 despite a crash.
It had been ups and downs leading up to qualifying for Miller, having finished third in the first RP, 15th in third, and 13th in fourth.
The Townsville-born driver found shape again when he qualified as one of eight drivers to break the lap record at the Losail International Circuit.
However, the 26-year-old couldn’t improve on his last run and noticed some “mistakes” late in the piece.
“I’m pretty happy with my performance in qualifying,” said Miller.
“I fell below the previous course record again and will start from the second row with the fifth fastest time.
“Unfortunately, on my second outing with the soft tires, I took a few risks and made a few mistakes.”
Miller starts from the middle of the second row with fourth qualifier Valentino Rossi from Petronas Yamaha SRT and Johann Zarco from Miller’s former team Pramac Racing at his side.
Polesitter “Pecco” Bagnaia will compete on their YZR-M1 together with the MotoGP duo Fabio Quartararo and Maverick Viñales from Monster Energy Yamaha.
Miller said he was expecting an interesting Grand Prix under lights with the possibility of high tire wear as sand sweeps the desert track.
“We’ll see how the track conditions will be in the race,” said Miller.
“The forecast is that it will be much windier and that the presence of sand on the track will mean faster tire wear.
“In any case, I feel ready and am looking forward to the first GP of the season.”
The Qatar Grand Prix starts tomorrow at 4:00 a.m. AEDT.