Jack Miller: Yamaha missing “15 to 20 horsepower” despite Sachsenring MotoGP surprise
Jack Miller says the Sachsenring hides Yamaha's biggest weakness, helping him produce his strongest Friday of the MotoGP season.
One Yamaha rider ended Friday practice at the Sachsenring ten places higher than the rest of the manufacturer's line-up.
This time it wasn't factory star Fabio Quartararo, but Pramac's Jack Miller.
The Australian surged to fifth on the timesheets, just 0.447s behind pace-setter Marc Marquez, setting his best lap while following a group of KTMs.
However, Miller's second-best lap, set on a separate run, would still have been good enough for eighth place, between the title-leading Aprilias of Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin.
“I feel good on the pace. I felt good alone. It’s nice to be at a track where we’re not relying on horsepower,” Miller said.
“You’re just playing with the throttle the whole way around here and compared to last year’s bike we could find the grip a bit easier.”
Miller said his eye-catching performance backed up what he has been saying throughout the season about Yamaha's underpowered V4.
“Where we brake is sometimes 15-metres later than everyone else. Then we have to accelerate 15-metres earlier than everyone else also. So you’re asking a lot from the chassis and the tyres,” he said.
“The thing all year has been we need more horsepower. We’re missing between 15 and 20 horsepower compared to the others, minimum. Then the bike will behave like a completely different motorcycle.”
He added: “The bike behaves not too bad but you’re asking a lot from it, so when you finish some of the qualifyings, you’re like, ‘How am I P16 with a lap like that?’ And I can’t do anything more.”
"It doesn’t matter if you’re Marc Marquez or Valentino Rossi"
Although it was “only Friday”, the result was a welcome boost for a rider whose MotoGP future remains uncertain.
“I believe I’m one of the best on the grid, like all of us do,” Miller said.
“But you know what tools you have in your pocket, let’s say. And when you don’t have any tools in your pocket, it’s f**king difficult to show.
“Look at what Marc did [in his final years] on the Honda. Look at what Valentino did on the Ducati.
“When it’s not working, it’s not working.
“When you don’t have the right package, it doesn’t matter if you’re Marc Marquez or Valentino Rossi. It’s not going to happen, unfortunately.”
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.
