Jack Miller’s unexpected “strife” - “trying to control massive slide” in Aragon MotoGP
Pramac's Jack Miller was among the Yamaha riders in bother at Aragon
Jack Miller experienced unexpected tyre problems in Friday practice at the Aragon MotoGP.
Miller was only 16th-fastest in FP2 - a session which every Yamaha found difficult.
Alex Rins was 15th, Augusto Fernandez 17th, Fabio Quartararo 18th, Miguel Oliveira 20th.
Quartararo has claimed three pole positions in a row but that now looks unlikely to continue.
Jack Miller difficulty on Friday at Aragon MotoGP
Pramac satellite rider Jack Miller, meanwhile, experienced his problems most severely in the final 10 minutes of the day.
“Not the best Friday, not the worst,” he said. “The bike felt good until I put on soft tyres and lost balance.
“I went two tenths faster with the softs than the new mediums.
“The balance felt off. I did my first run, medium, medium, new, then came in and tried the medium-soft combination to understand the tyre life for the sprint race.
“I did six or seven laps then thought ‘f***, a lot of understeer, it’s pushing the front’.
“I thought maybe it’s the used front tyre, I didn’t think too much of it.
“After, on both time attacks, the bigger issue was pushing the rear to the front, understeering, having to wait a long time before I can rotate and pick the bike up.
“There are some things happening in the entry phase where the bike snaps and kicks.
“Going into Turn 1 and 12, everything is under control then it’s sliding and getting ready to hit my line but I have to transfer the weight to use the rear.
“It’s like trying to control a massive slide while on a hot lap time.
“I think we understood what was going on. The tyre difference between soft and medium was big. The grip is not on the best side. You use a lot of rear tyre, especially for lap time.
“My pace on the medium tyre, I was happy with. We’ll have to make a compromise because we have to qualify but, probably, the sprint will be on the soft tyre.
“I knew we were in a bit of strife. It was hard, getting to the apex on Turn 1. I braked early to keep constant load on the rear to carry rolling speed up the hill but, as I upset the tyre, the bike goes sideways and takes time to recover.”
Miller came into the Aragon MotoGP under scrutiny for his place in the 2026 MotoGP rider line-up.
But Pramac insist a deal with Toprak Razgatlioglu is not yet finalised despite the rumours.
Miller will want to ensure he is not the rider replaced if Razgatlioglu does arrive.
He has spotted a way to reverse his Friday trouble by looking to Yamaha’s test rider.
“We are playing with the balance,” he said. “Augusto Fernandez was using something different in terms of geometry and weight distribution. I think we will try something in that direction to use the rear tyre more.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
