The fastest man ever on a motorcycle on the Losail track goes by the name of Jack Miller. We knew that the Ducati liked Qatar, but today the Australian outdid himself when he stopped the clock with a time of 1’53.183, about two tenths better than Marquez had ever done. It might be true that nothing is ever won during tests, but certain performances can only be good for morale.
“You couldn’t ask for better conditions here – he said – There was no wind, the asphalt was clean, the temperatures were good and there wasn’t too much humidity either. It was a perfect day to do that time, the track conditions were asking for it”.
This doesn’t mean it was easy, because Quartararo wasn’t too far behind Jack, only 80 thousandths of a second.
“Some riders were pushing hard, like Fabio, then there’s Vinales who has a fantastic pace – continued Miller – I had good sensations and I put on two new soft tyres. But today I didn’t focus too much on the one lap, but on doing my job. We are trying to improve the bike in all areas, making small changes, even unnecessary ones, to better understand how it reacts. We know that the Desmosedici is fantastic in some circuits and that it struggles in others, so you have to have clear ideas”.
For most of the day the Australian used the new fairing, which is thought to be able to generate downforce even when cornering. “If I have always used it and if we are all happy it means that it is better” he cut short.
But there is still a lot of work to be done…
“I’m struggling a bit in the third sector – he revealed – At the exit of turn 10, accelerating with the bike tilted, the rear tire slides. I’m trying to solve the problem without losing confidence in the front”.
Miller doesn’t want to make the mistake however of becoming too big-headed about everything…
“The times you do in tests are always special – hey underlined – With the pace I had today with used tires I could say that I would have won the race by 15 seconds, but then things change at the weekend of the GP. There will be Moto2 rubber on the asphalt, so we have to wait, and not rely too much on this data. The most important thing is to understand how the tires work and be ready for any situation. In Qatar we are all always close together, to see everyone’s real level we will have to wait until we race in Europe ”.
However, there was one rider who particularly impressed him…
“I think that Pol Espargarò will be able to fight for the victory in the first race – he said – For me, he has been the real standout of this test, because he’s had the biggest job of everybody after being on a KTM for a few years. He’s adapted to the Honda very well and I think he’s putting in some fast lap times. I’m pleasantly surprised to see that, because not everyone can manage the Honda, and I think we all thought that Pol has that aggressive style of riding. “
There was just time for one final comment on the back and forth with Lorenzo on social media…
“I simply said my opinion – explained Jack – There is no point in writing rubbish on social media, I don’t like it when you talk like that about a rider who crashed. I gave my opinion, then I didn’t answer. I’ve got a lot of things to do, all people on the beach do is think about having fun”.