Jack Miller was “disappointed” in Motegi as he disappeared from the podium late at the Japanese Grand Prix and fought in “survival mode”.
Miller started in sixth and finished third in the middle of the first lap before he was able to line up behind Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) and the Petronas Yamaha SRT duo Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli.
Miller quickly cleared Morbidelli on lap 3 for a fourth podium of the season.
For so long, it seemed like Miller would live up to predictions of a podium finish at the Twin Ring Motegi ahead of the race, having consistently ridden the same soft rear wheel in dry Friday practice.
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However, Morbidelli, Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) and Maverick Vinales (Yamaha) all stood behind it and drove past Miller one after the other.
Miller finished seventh on lap 15 after he was also cleared by Alex Rins (Suzuki).
Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) also passed before Joan Mir (Suzuki) and Danilo Petrucci (Ducati) pushed him into 10th place by the end of the race.
It was a sobering result for the Australian considering he was in the mix with eventual winner Marquez and runner-up Quartararo.
Miller falls behind Rins (42) and Crutchlow (35). Image: Toshifumi KitamuraSource: Getty Images
“We had a problem with the rear wheel grip,” said Miller after the race.
“It came around the fifth or seventh round. Since then I’ve been more or less in survival mode.
“I do not know what happened. I felt very comfortable, really strong, I just tried to stay with Marc and Fabio and then suddenly I couldn’t push anymore. “
The leaders were comfortably in the 1:46 class throughout the race and Miller stuck with them.
Towards the end of the race, however, Miller drove 1:47 and 1:48 and was almost 19 seconds behind Marquez at the finish.
“I do not know what happened.” Image: Toshifumi KitamuraSource: Getty Images
The signs first hit when Morbidelli overtook, which coincided with Miller’s first lap within the 1:47 mark throughout the race.
Meanwhile, Miller’s rookie Pramac team-mate Francesco Bagnaia finished 13th.
It was a second race that Miller had stumbled on out of such great hope – although his accidental kill switch drama in Thailand was a mistake, the hide in Japan requires a more thorough review.
With the medium-sized rear tire, Dovizioso finished third, pushing rookie Quartararo to P2 on the last lap.
Ahead of the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island this weekend, Miller’s hopes of beating Quartararo to beat the highest independent honors appear with the Frenchman 48 points ahead and only 75 points left.
“We need to go through the data and understand what went wrong where,” said Miller.
“Really disappointed, but we brought it home. It’s not where we wanted to start after the battle for the podium.
“I think we had more today, but we couldn’t show it.”