Jack Miller: “I’m not sure it was the right decision”
A poor start and questionable tyre choice leave Jack Miller playing catch-up at Argentine MotoGP.
Jack Miller’s Argentine MotoGP was compromised by a poor start. But in hindsight, he might also have been better off sticking with the soft rear tyre instead of switching to the medium.
Just five riders opted for the soft compound but it performed better than expected - helping Franco Morbidelli to a podium alongside Marc and Alex Marquez, while VR46 team-mate Fabio Di Giannantonio also made it into the top five.
Monster Yamaha’s Alex Rins, who went against team advice to run the soft, also managed to finish as the top M1 rider in 11th.
Miller, meanwhile, dropped from 13th to 16th at the start before recovering to finish two seconds behind Rins after a weekend where all Yamaha riders struggled for race pace.
Jack Miller unsure on decision-making
"The release at the start of the race wasn‘t too bad, but then I had a bit of wheel spin - maybe I was a little too aggressive on the clutch, or the track was quite dirty - which caused me to lose a few positions,” Miller explained.
“Fortunately, I was able to recover them fairly quickly. However, we struggled with grip.
“We opted for the medium rear tyre, and I’m not sure if it was the right decision, but it’s always easier to say that after the race.
“Anyway, I tried to be as gentle as possible and find my rhythm.”
After climbing past Raul Fernandez, Luca Marini, Enea Bastianini, and Fermín Aldeguer within the opening six laps, Miller’s progress stalled as Marini and later Maverick Viñales overtook him.
“With 11 laps to go, I felt like I was catching up to the other riders, but in the end, our tyre degradation was similar, so I wasn’t able to move forward as much as I had expected.
“Overall, it‘s been a valuable learning weekend for us. Of course, we want to be closer to the front, and I‘m confident that we‘ll come back stronger in Texas in two weeks' time."
Pramac team director Gino Borsoi felt Miller’s start had made the race more difficult: “Jack’s less-than-ideal start certainly didn‘t help, as losing positions forced him to push harder in the early laps.
“Nonetheless, he managed to recover quickly with a consistent pace, securing some valuable points and, more importantly, providing engineers with crucial data for further development."
Miller - 13th and top Yamaha in the early riders’ standings - was the only Pramac on track in Argentina after team-mate Miguel Oliveira was injured during the Sprint race.
Yamaha test rider Augusto Fernandez will replace Oliveira for the next round at COTA on March 28-30.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
