AFTER battling through the Spanish MotoGP, Australia’s Jack Miller has revealed just how much his foot injury is hampering his riding.
Miller was left with a broken right foot after crashing heavily during Friday practice for the Grand Prix of The Americas in early April, the knock also aggravating a pre-season right ankle injury.
After missing Austin, Miller was back in the saddle for the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez, but far from fully fit.
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“We’re not even 60 percent at the moment,” he said. “Once I’ve got the boot on I’m struggling to walk.
“(It) was a hard race because I’m trying to ride it all off one foot; especially the change of directions here in Jerez have been hard, but we’re managing and it’s getting better day by day.
“It’s a slog at the moment, but we’re just here to get miles in our pocket and try to ride to the best we can.”
Miller had a steady weekend at Jerez, finishing 17th — ahead of teammate Tito Rabat — but struggling through the circuit’s slow hairpins.
Miller (43) nearly nipped through into 16th on the last lap.Source: Supplied
The subsequent test day didn’t provide a silver bullet for their setup issues but it gave Miller crucial seat time, something he has been sorely missing so far in 2016.
“After missing the test in Sepang and not being 100 per cent for both the tests at Qatar and Phillip Island, it was really nice to just get some more bike time,” he said.
“We never really found the ultimate setup, but we made some steps. We’ve got a few more things up our sleeve to try at Le Mans and hopefully we can sort out the slower corner problems like we had in the race.”
But the bulk of any improvement may come from his body.
Miller on the grid at Jerez.Source: Getty Images
Ironically, Miller headed into 2016 in his best physical shape yet following an intense training program over the European winter, and has continued his regimen around the injuries he has sustained since January.
Miller stayed in the United States after the Austin race to undergo intense physiotherapy and rehab on his injured foot, and will continue to do so in the fortnight break between Jerez and Le Mans.
“We didn’t have any falls this weekend so we didn’t prevent any of the healing process,” he said.
“Now we get another two weeks before we ride again. A lot can happen in two weeks, so we’ll just keep working with the physiotherapist and see where we are at Le Mans.”
The MotoGP Grand Prix of France is at Le Mans on May 8.Source: Supplied