What caused Jack Miller to say ‘don’t be an idiot, just bring it home’?
Miller, who spent the entire Grand Prix inside the top three positions, was arguably the fastest Ducati rider despite Francesco Bagnaia ultimately winning his fourth MotoGP race in the last seven rounds.
Faster than his team-mate at the beginning and end, it was the middle part of the Grand Prix where Bagnaia took advantage of finding more performance.
Although he lost out to Maverick Vinales with three laps remaining, Miller closed in on the top two during the final lap as he began lining up a move on the Aprilia rider. But after seeing Vinales protect the inside heading into ‘Brooklands’ [turn 16], Miller instead settled for third.
Speaking to BT Sport post-race, Miller said: "I ran out of steam towards the end. I started suffering a little bit with the front end. When Pecco came past I thought: ‘Alright, I’ll settle in here for a bit’. I felt stronger than him for the majority of the race but I wasn’t going to put anything silly on. We were 1-2 [at the time] so there was no need.
"Six laps from the end, I started losing the front massively. Then I used the rear to finish the corner off. Then I started losing the rear everywhere. Honestly, I was panicking with three to go!
"On the second-last lap, I calmed down and understood how I could ride around the issues that I was having. I had a big kick on the chicane on the back straight, lost all my drive, and waited for three bikes to come past!
"Every time I checked the TV in the second-last corner, there were 15 bikes on the screen, all on the same corner that I was in! I found a bit more speed on the last lap so I was annoyed.
"I thought about having a look-in at Maverick [Vinales], on the last chicane where I looked at Aleix [Espargaro] last year, but he was so protective. I thought ‘don’t be an idiot, just bring it home!’
"I was panicking because, at Turn 1 and Turn 12, you hear bikes! It’s like a guy is on the inside of you! I don’t know what it is, with the walls and echoes!"
Silverstone ‘one of the best’ MotoGP circuits in the world, says Miller
Silverstone played host to the second closest top ten finish in MotoGP history on Sunday, proving once again that this year’s field is closer than ever.
However, it’s not just the performance throughout the grid that’s making the racing close in 2022, as Miller also believes the right track can play a big part in how well you can race one-another.
"I can’t speak highly enough about it [Silverstone]. It’s one of the best in the world," said Miller when asked how highly he rates the British venue.
"It’s a proper old school Grand Prix track, long lap and has a lot of different elements. That’s why you see the top ten so close together.
"It shows the depth of the field but it also shows the race track because even riding with some of the Suzukis in the race or even the Aprilia at the back end, you can see the different lines. It makes for great racing so for sure, it’s a great circuit."
