Jack Miller: ‘Strong points of KTM play into’ strengths of COTA

After seeing teammate Brad Binder take a shock Sprint race win in Argentina, could Jack Miller do something similar at a MotoGP circuit he calls ‘one of my favourites’.

Robert Jones

14 Apr 2023

Despite lacklustre results in pre-season testing, the former Ducati rider has adapted well to KTM since the beginning of the season, as highlighted by three top ten finishes in four races.

The one race where Miller failed to score however, instead turned into a mesmerising performance from his teammate as Binder won from 15th on the grid, which was one position higher than where Miller started.

But given his lack of experience with the RC16, Miller has been very impressive in both dry and wet conditions.

Aside from a brief stint in the lead of the Sprint race at Portimao, Miller has not looked like a potential race winner thus far in 2023, but given the absence of Marc Marquez - the Repsol Honda rider is a six-time winner around COTA - and Miller often being one of the fastest riders around the Texan circuit, an opportunity to change that line of thinking could be in the offering.

"This is probably one of my favourites, the track is different to everywhere else we race," added Miller. "With this KTM I’m excited to see what we can do.

"The points that I’m finding strong on this bike play into the [strong points] of this track. We have managed to improve the braking performance of the bike.

"Coming into this grand prix, that’s a key factor. With corners like Turn 1, before and after the back straight, then the last corner as well.

"A decent bike that performs well on the brakes is key. But also the way that the bike changes direction - it is really precise, it give me good feedback through the handlebars. Going through Sector 1 to Sector 3 will be pretty nice."

While Miller is a race winner in Moto3 around the American circuit, only two current riders outside of Marquez have won at COTA in the premier class, those being Alex Rins and Enea Bastianini.

The latter, like Marquez, has also been ruled out of this weekend which could present an even bigger opportunity for someone like Miller to sweep in and fight for a podium, if not more.