Miller: ‘Clearly I got carried away, again my crew chief lied to me…’

Miller was second behind Jorge Martin for much of Q2 before he crashed at turn two, a mistake that allowed six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez to get ahead of him without having the chance to respond.

But while Miller’s qualifying came to an early end, the soon-to-be KTM rider remains a clear contender in the battle for victory on Sunday after retaining a front row start.

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Add to that Miller has been one of the fastest riders when it comes to race pace, thus a potential win in his final race for Ducati can’t be dismissed. 

Speaking after qualifying, Miller said: "It’s really important here to be on those first two rows. It’s not an easy track to pass even if there’s quite a bit of speed difference. I was really happy, especially on that first tyre to see a 29.8s. 

"I felt like it wasn’t the best lap and that I could do more and on that second lap I was throwing everything at it. I knew I had a decent banker and I probably got a little bit carried away. 

"I didn’t even make it past turn two so clearly I got carried away. But it’s been an awesome weekend and we’ve had a good pace."

Like Marquez, Fabio Quartararo and a few other expected contenders, Miller used FP4 to generate plenty of data ahead of the season-finale. 

Included in that was a misjudgment from his crew chief who told Miller he completed an 18-lap run, which later turned out to be a 20-lap stint.   

"Yeah I think so," added Miller when talking of his chances to fight for the win. "I mean the 20-lap run in FP4 - again my crew chief lied to me and told me it was 18 but it turned out to be 20 laps. 

"The pace is there and when you can ride the bike freely then the lap time comes to you - I don’t want to say easy because riding a MotoGP bike is not easy, but it comes easier than at some other tracks. 

"We’re in good shape for tomorrow’s race but Marc is hungry and is riding well. Jorge is fast here. 

"He was on the podium last year and I followed him for the majority of the race. I know those bikes can go fast around here."