Jack Miller “felt good from the early laps”, Yamaha “on an upward path”

Jack Miller backed up Fabio Quartararo’s form by making it two Yamahas inside the top six during Friday practice for the French MotoGP at Le Mans.

The former French GP winner secured a direct place in Qualifying 2 for the first time since the COTA, also the scene of his most last points finish, after benefitting from both a productive Jerez test and the latest M1 upgrades.

The Australian lapped 0.422s from pacesetter Marc Marquez, but only 0.245s adrift of second-fastest Fabio Quartararo.

More significantly, Miller’s race pace was consistently strong in the mid 1m31s range, potentially putting him in the mix for Saturday’s Sprint and Sunday’s main event.

“It has been a good day, as it is always positive when you manage to pass directly to Q2,” Miller said. “I felt good from the very early laps this morning.

“The test in Jerez was really what we needed to shakedown the bike and try a few different things in a different layout than Malaysia and Thailand.

“The Jerez test could not have been coming at a better time - well, a couple of days before would have actually been better! - but I am happy with the steps we made.

“I am happy with the bike, we are building and getting a good feeling, which here in Le Mans can be tricky sometimes."

Rather than reaching his limit, Miller pointed to a few key corners where there’s more time to be found.

“I am satisfied with my fast laps, but also the pace was not bad at all, already from the end of FP1. But I feel there are still some areas on the track that I can improve, like turns 9 and 10 where I don’t feel amazing. And also in the last sector I know I can improve more.”

“Yamaha is on an upward path”

After Quartararo’s pole and podium at Jerez, Pramac team director Gino Borsoi said day one at Le Mans offered further evidence of Yamaha’s “upward path”.

“It was definitely a good Friday, not just because of Jack’s position, but also the pace he showed from the start. Of course, there’s still a lot of work ahead, but it’s the best way to kick off the weekend,” he said.

“Quartararo’s performance also shows that Yamaha is on an upward path, and the updates we tested in Jerez, including the new engine, are starting to pay off.”

While Miller and Quartararo featured at the sharp end, team-mate Miguel Oliveira made his return to MotoGP action after a long injury absence.

The Portuguese rider finished 21st overall with a time of 1m32.325s.

“I was relieved after my first runs, and this is just the right choice of words, because you never know how you will feel and still doubt if you will be able to ride the bike after such a long time,” said Oliveira.

“I missed a lot of technique and got tired super quickly, because I am making a lot of effort to try to do all I have to do. But it is what it is, this is weekend zero for me and I am just starting to get my feel back with the bike.”