Jack Miller: ‘Pressure is what goes into tyres, Fabio knows about that’
Miller, who is arguably the most in-form MotoGP rider heading into the final three races of the year, remains a sizable threat to Quartararo in the championship.
With that said, Ducati’s title hopes remain largely on the shoulders of Francesco Bagnaia, with the Italian just two points off Quartararo in the standings as opposed to Miller who is 40 back on the Yamaha rider.
Asked if he’s feeling any added pressure heading into the weekend, Miller instead turned to Quartararo in the pre-event press conference.
"Pressure is what goes in tyres isn’t it? Fabio knows all about that," added the factory Ducati rider. "I feel like [being] 40 points back isn’t ideal, it’s less than ideal but we’ll keep doing what we’ve been doing.
"I’m enjoying riding the bike and I’m having a ball with it at the moment. If we can continue that and pull some decent results then we’ll see where we end up at the end."
Miller's comments are in reference to Quartararo having the wrong front tyre pressure during the Thailand MotoGP.
Miller doesn’t expect team orders from Ducati as the MotoGP title fight heats up
Yet to win his home race as a premier class rider, Miller is aiming to do just that on Sunday afternoon even at the risk of costing team-mate Bagnaia points.
Miller added: "These boys have got a battle between themselves. I’ll try not to do anything silly but of course, it’s every rider’s dream to win their home Grand Prix and it just feels awesome to be back here on a factory bike. There’s no doubt I’ll be going for it."
As we saw in Motegi and Buriram, Enea Bastianini and Miller both had moments where they battled against Bagnaia which included making overtakes on the Italian.
Johann Zarco elected not to do so at the Thai Grand Prix despite rapidly closing in on Bagnaia during the closing stages, although the Pramac rider is not a title contender like Bastianini or Miller.
Remy Gardner hoping to fight for WorldSBK wins in 2023
Making his one and only home MotoGP appearance this weekend, Gardner was also involved in the pre-event press conference after taking part in a parade lap with Miller and fans from all over the country on Wednesday.
The Tech 3 KTM rider will join GRT Yamaha next season alongside Dominique Aegerter, with the aim of returning to winning ways. However, Gardner could not hide his disappointment at the fact he will be leaving MotoGP after this season.
"It’s [WorldSBK] a new challenge for me," stated Gardner. "I didn’t really feel like my time here in MotoGP was over but that’s the way life is and I’m always open to a new challenge.
"Hopefully I can be on a competitive package and can be fighting for podiums and maybe wins next year."
