Jack Miller on Misano KTM frustrations: "I feel like I can't push anymore"

Jack Miller talks through his difficult sprint ♐Saturday at Misano

Jack Miller, KTM, 2024 Emilia Romagna MotoGP
Jack Miller, KTM, 2024 Emilia Romagna MotoGP
© Gold and Goose

KTM's Jack Miller says it feels like he "can't push anymore" on the RC16 at Misano after struggling to 15th in the MotoGP Emilia Romagna Gran෴d Prix sprint having qualified 19th.

The Australian endured a dismal Q1 o📖n Saturday morning when he ended up 19th on the grid, while team-mat🐷e Brad Binder topped the session and went on to put his KTM fourth.

From the back row of the grid,ဣ Miller couldn't do much to make progress as his march took him to 15ওth and almost 20 seconds off the win.

Miller🥂 feels he is "stuck" in terms of pace aroꦛund Misano compared to what he did at the San Marino GP and that he is "on the wall for my riding".

“It’s like a tenth off what I did last week in the sprint, so it seems like we’re sort of just stuck around that nꦉumber and that’s how it feels,” he said.

“I feel like ꦇI can’🦩t push anymore, I feel like on the wall for my riding, for my feeling with the bike. So, we’ve got to try and find something to move that bar.”

Tyre warm-up thwarts Binder

Off the line, Binder jumped up to second ahead of eventual winner Francesco Bagnaia, but by the end of the opening lap he h🐻ad been relegated to fifth and then to sixth on the next toღur.

By the end of lap three, Bi👍nder was already 2.5s off the lead and would end up 8.1s back at the chequered flag in sixth.

He🎃 blamed tജhis on not being able to get his medium front tyre up to temperature quick enough and nearly crashed twice on the first lap.

“My spee🃏d was decent and to do a 1m30.6s in Q2 was my quickest lap aroꩵund here,” Binder said.

“I messed up the sprint because it took too long for the front tyre to come up to performan♚ce and I almost crashed and went wide in Turn 11.

“I nee🦄ded two laps to get m🔜y feeling and then I could ride OK.

“It still wasn’t fa🎃st enough but at least I could push and I’m happy enough with the result because I thought I had ruined the race by the time we go to Turn 6 for the first time.

“Tomorrow I d🎃efinitely need to work on that tire situation, and we should be pretty good.”

He added: “Honestly, I 🦂was really lucky to save a crash at Turn 6 on lap one, and then again at Turn 11 I almost crashed again.

“So, super lucky to stay on the bike.”

KTM team manager Francesco Guidotti called it a “bittersweet Saturday”, stating: “Brad too🌌k P1 and then P4 in the two qualifying sessions, one of the best outcomes this year and we cannot complain a🥂bout that.

“He also had a great start but then struggled with the front tyre temperature for the first laps and missed the chance to go with th🥀e leading group.

“Jac🔴k missed Q2 on Friday by a few milliseconds. He couldn’t find a lap today and then a Sprint race from the back is a tough deal. We’ll tr🎃y to be better tomorrow.”

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