Jack Miller buoyant: “Felt shit” after Qatar, podium “realistic” in Portimao
Jack Miller reacts to going second-f🎐ast🅘est on Friday in Portimao at the Portuguese MotoGP
Jack Miller delivered a much-needed 🐼reminder of his capabilities with a P🦄2 finish at Friday Practice at the Portuguese MotoGP.
Miller was be🔜hind only Enea Bastianini on 🤡a hugely positive day for the KTM rider.
At the season-opener in Qatar he end𒅌ured a dreadful 21st-placed finish, the worst possible start to a season where he must earn his next KTM co💧ntract.
Miller said after going second-fastest in Portimao on Friday: “It was a good day, obviousl💟y.
“The conditions we𒊎re not what we expected, with the rain overnight.
“The 🌳bike is working well, as it has done all year. It’s nice to 🤪show up and have a crack!
“There are areas we can improve on the🗹 hard tyre and the soft.
“It’s nice to be through to Q2, th﷽at’s the first🦋 job done.
“The way I felt this afternoon, when I did the lap✃ times on hard tyres, I was happy.”
Miller had an early crash in Portimao but r🧜ebounded confident♏ly.
He was asked if the circuit suits his machine, and said: “The old KTM maybe was more manoeuvra🐭ble.
“All the bikes now have gone to t🐬he longer whe﷽el base.
“But, our bike doeꦗs suit it. From Turn 1 to 3, you can pitch the thing sideways and get it to stop on a dimepiece, and follow the white line around the inside, which used to be pretty hard on the Ducati.
“So it’s a track that suits our bike.
“Qatar suited🐻 our bike too. I didn’t feel terrible. I just didn’t put it together.”
Miller belie𒁏ves a podium is possible this weekend.
“I think it every wee🌸k otherwise I wouldn𓆏’t show up,” he said.
“But obviously it seems more realistic this week.
“I felt extremely shit after the race in Qatar but ▨that’s a different stor🥀y.
“We have a great packag🧸e. We just need the stars to align and we can do a great job.”
Miller went through a rigorous fitness regime before the start of the 2024 MotoGP season but wasn’t able to show off his hard𒉰 work due to a terrible result in Qatar.
“I worked extremely hard on the offseason, and in the week between Qatar🐲 and here, to exhaustꩵ every option and to work on myself physically and mentally,” he said.
And he added: “F***** food,☂ I’ve never eaten so much fruit in my life, I am trying everything!”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to 💧football,ꦿ to F1.
