Jack Miller: Sand and shit, like motocross!

Aside from the usual spray, sand and dirt was an additional visibility hazard in Sunday’s wet Argentine MotoGP.

03 Apr 2023

Jack Miller, MotoGP race, Argentina MotoGP, 02 April

“The visibility was shocking the first couple of laps, honestly,” said KTM’s Jack Miller.

“The problem was the windscreen was filthy, so you couldn't see a damn thing out of that, so you're sort of sticking your head up down the straight trying to see.”

The dirt also meant Miller soon used his tear-off and had to wipe his helmet visor ‘motocross style’ every few laps.

“The helmet worked mega, it didn't leak at all,” he said of the first wet MotoGP race for the new Alpinestars design.

“I kept my tear-off for about three laps and then ditched that and just wiped [the dirt off the visor] with my hand.

“Through Turn 10, I was like, ‘waaaah’, on the lean angle, literally flat [out] and took my hand off to give it a wipe! It was a bit like motocross!

“Every 3 or 4 laps you had to give it a wipe just because there was that much sand and shit in the water.”

After fighting at the front on his KTM debut in Portimao, Miller faced both a new track and new (wet) conditions in Termas de Rio Hondo.

Lining up 16th, just behind team-mate and Sprint winner Brad Binder, Miller gained ten places over the course of the Sunday race to also hold sixth in the world championship standings.

“Happy enough,” said the Australian, who kept Fabio Quartararo at bay in the closing stages. “I mean, no one's happy with 6th are they? We wanted a little bit more but starting from 16th wasn't the easiest thing in the world. Nonetheless, we worked our way through.

“About three laps into it I just hit a wall. I don't know if I cooked the rear tyre a little bit on the drive part of the left-hand side. But I started having moment after moment.

“I tried to sort of scroll through my maps to understand if that was the issue. Tried more power, that didn't help at all. Tried less power, that seemed to help a little bit. Put the TC target away a little bit and that was better as well. Kind of wish I had a little bit more margin there with that.

“Then eight laps to the end, it kind of came good again, started bringing my lap times down a little bit, was able to come back towards Jorge [Martin].”

The RC16 has previously won in wet conditions with Binder and Miguel Oliveira and Miller, also a renowned talent on a slippery surface, was impressed by his first experience.

“The bike itself felt mega, especially in the front end,” he said.

“It was a weekend of learning for us. With the first rollout here in the wet, we were really really far away. We made a big step this morning, probably could have done a bit more in that direction.

“We've made the bike quite a bit shorter, our wheelbase is a lot longer than it was the last couple of years. But we've made it quite a bit shorter this morning, we probably could have gone another step in that direction. Just with the transfer you get, it's so much better, a lot better drive.

“But the bike's mega in the wet, the front end's solid, you get a good reading in the wet and dry in where you are at with the front tyre. Wanted a little bit more, but we'll take it.

“The pace was also really good in the [dry] sprint race and I was kind of hoping for a dry one today. But nonetheless I'm really happy with the work that we've done.

“I feel like after these last two grand prix, we've got a decent base setting, and we can hopefully hit the ground running come America.

“MotoGP’s all about results. We're working on it. I'm enjoying the process.”

Binder fell after contact on the opening lap and finished 17th and last.