“We tossed the coin - It didn’t pay off”: Jack Miller’s gamble backfires

Jack Miller and his Pramac Yamaha team “tossed a coin” and made a “big gamble” by ditching the medium rear tyre for a soft in Saturday’s Qatar MotoGP Sprint.

Like others who took the same risk, the move backfired sooner than expected - although starting just 16th on the grid meant the Australian felt it had been "worth a shot".

“I decided to go with the soft rear tyre today, it was a big gamble, we tossed the coin but it didn‘t pay off,” Miller said. “I thought I might start to struggle after 8 or 9 laps, but by lap 4 I was already in trouble, which honestly surprised me.

“I didn‘t expect it to be that bad, maybe it was the cooler temperatures, or the sand, or something else on the track. Still, it was worth a shot, even if we hoped to get a bit more out of it.

“I got a decent start, but played it safe into Turn 1 and ended up getting boxed in, so I didn‘t gain much there.

“I picked off a few riders on the first lap, but then there was some chaos with Marini, Ogura, and I think Pecco was in the mix too.

“I found my rhythm and closed the gap, but as soon as I got past Marini, I started suffering on corner entry - first in the last corner, then pretty much everywhere.

“Tomorrow we‘ll switch back to the medium tyre, and if I can get off the line well, I think we can move forward.”

Miller slipped to 19th place at the flag, on an evening when Monster Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo was fighting for the final podium place with the medium rear tyre.

Pramac team director Gino Borsoi said: “Overall, this Qatar GP is turning out to be a very interesting event. 

"On one hand, we still have several areas to improve, as highlighted by Jack‘s crashes yesterday.

“On the other hand, Yamaha has made a significant step forward, as we saw with Quartararo fighting for the podium until the very end of the Sprint.

“Looking at the data, it‘s clear that both Jack and Augusto have strong potential. It‘s only a matter of time before that potential translates into results.”

Augusto Fernandez, replacing the injured Miguel Oliveira for the second event in a row, finished one place ahead of Miller on the medium rear tyre.

“For me, it wasn‘t a bad Sprint race,” he said. “I‘m improving my speed and pace and even though I‘m still toward the back, I‘m starting to close the gap and gain positions.

“Today, I felt more like a proper race rider rather than just a test rider. 

"I worked on the setup and began tailoring the bike more to my riding style, which is important not just for me, but also for Yamaha, to help us get more out of the bike.”