Miller dominated the field in the second practice session of the Doha Grand Prix on Friday when he completed a lap of 1: 53.145 minutes in the closing stages.
However, he did so after following Nakagami when the Japanese fell off his Honda at Turn 7. MotoGP rules mandate that a rider’s lap is automatically canceled if they pass a yellow flag zone, although Nakagami’s fall was still happening as Miller rode by, which meant no caution was required.
“I checked the sector that comes out of T6 and as soon as I got out of six I looked at the sector [time]when I looked up I saw the dust, ”Miller said. “He [Nakagami] was still running at this point.
“I thought the lap was canceled, I was right on top of it and had no chance to slow down. I pressed [for] At least one more lap, I drove one more lap that was enough to stay in Q2.
“I just wasn’t sure. I’ve been left out like this before, so I didn’t want that to happen again. “
Also read:
Miller’s time attack attempt prior to this lap, which should bring him to the front of the session, almost ended in disaster at Turn 14 when his Ducati nearly threw him into the countryside.
He explained the moment and said, “I’m fine from that moment, I have nothing really to do” [say]. It’s one of those things when you push. Better a moment than a crash. Everyone asks if I hit myself but I didn’t. The family jewels are safe and healthy!
“From what we’ve gathered from the data, it shouldn’t be happening anyway. It doesn’t have much to do with us. It was one of those things that were inevitable, but I don’t think it will happen again. “
Miller led a trio of Ducatis at the end of Friday, with Pramac rookie Jorge Martin denying making it a Desmosedici quartet in 0.010 seconds in fifth.
Since the conditions in FP3 do not allow any lap time improvements on Saturday, Martin has already secured a place in Q2 on his second race weekend – something he did not expect.
“When they told me whether I was expecting it, I didn’t know what to expect,” said Martin. “I only got on my bike a few weeks ago, but I know that this is the right place for me if I want to improve.
“My goal was to finish in the top 10 to get into Q2, but I definitely didn’t expect an FP2 like today. I expected the bike to be more difficult, but it allows me [to do] a lot, I can push it and use the strengths and hide the weaknesses. “
Additional reporting by Mark Bremer