Jack Miller explains Pramac "miscommunication" after pit stop meltdown in Sepang sprint

Jack Miller says he apologised to the Pramac Yamaha team for his reaction to the “miscommunication” surrounding his Malaysian MotoGP Sprint pit stop.

After completing the first lap in 17th place, Miller took a gamble and dived into the pit lane as soon as raindrops began to fall.

But much to his fury, his second M1 wasn't even close to being ready.

After clearly expressing his frustration to the team, including crew chief Giacomo Guidotti, Miller was left to sit and wait before conceding that his race was over.

Although the rain did eventually get heavier - prompting Joan Mir, Iker Lecuona, Franco Morbidelli and Maverick Viñales to also pull into the pits - the deluge needed to make the gamble work only arrived after the chequered flag.

"It was on me"

“It was on me. I saw raindrops at Turns 5 and 6, then again at Turns 7 and 8 and Turns 9 and 10,” Miller explained.

“Those are usually the first areas to get wet when the rain comes from that direction, and the drops here are pretty big. 

"I checked the radar, which was showing rain arriving later, but when I saw those drops, I thought it was coming earlier than expected. I believed the next lap would be wet, so I decided to come in.

“We were running 17th or 18th, and the chances of scoring points here in Malaysia were looking slim, so I felt it was worth taking a gamble.

“In my mind, the timing was right, and I genuinely thought we had a chance to make something happen with that decision.

“Unfortunately, the bike wasn‘t ready when I arrived. I‘d spoken with the team before the race about having the second bike prepared, but we clearly had different understandings of the timing.

“I thought it would be ready immediately, while the team understood that they had another four or five laps. It was a miscommunication, and by the time I realised the tyres hadn‘t even been changed, I knew the race was over.

“I apologised for my reaction afterwards. When you arrive in the pit lane, you‘re still in the race, and in my mind, I wouldn‘t have made that decision unless I believed it was the right one.

“Unfortunately, it didn‘t work out, but given our position and the conditions I was seeing on track, I thought it was worth a shot.”

"Not what any of us wanted”

Team director Gino Borsoi felt both rider and team shared some of the blame.

“It‘s a shame about the confusion surrounding Jack‘s pit stop,” Borsoi said. “We were preparing the second bike for wet conditions, and it would have been ready one lap later.

“Jack saw an area of the circuit where the rain was particularly heavy and decided to come in as quickly as possible to change bikes. Unfortunately, we weren‘t quite ready when he arrived.

“There was perhaps a little too much eagerness to take a risk on Jack‘s side, while we could also have been slightly quicker in preparing the bike, although there wasn‘t much more we could have done.

“It‘s frustrating because the timing was crucial, and the outcome was not what any of us wanted.”

Augusto Fernandez, standing in for the injured Toprak Razgatlioglu, finished in 14th place.

Rain could again be a factor in Sunday's Grand Prix.