Miller: 'Big scare' ends pole hopes, ponders Marquez tactics
Jack Miller was in with a fighting chance of repeating last year's Argentina MotoGP pole position, this time in pure dry conditions, only for a 'big ole highside' moment to cost him valuable tenths.
"It was just as I flicked it into Turn 11. Very fast, sort of scared the shit out of me. But we rode out of it and did a 38.5s," said the Pramac Ducati rider, second quickest in three out of the four practice sessions prior to qualifying.
Jack Miller was in with a fighting chance of repeating last year's Argentina MotoGP pole position, this time in pure dry conditions, only for a 'big ole highside' moment to cost him valuable tenths.
"It was just as I flicked it into Turn 11. Very fast, sort of scared the shit out of me. But we rode out of it and did a 38.5s," said the Pramac Ducati rider, second quickest in three out of the four practice sessions prior to qualifying.
"I was hoping we could have stuck it on the front row, if not pole, and it was looking that way. I was nearly three and a half tenths under my previous '38.6."
Marc Marquez went on to take pole position with a 1m 38.3s, while Miller was forced to settle for fifth (+0.244s) after the scare.
However the Australian is feeling confident for the race, feeling he has arguably the second-best pace after Marquez, although the Repsol Honda rider currently has the edge on everyone else and is able to pick his tactics.
"I'm feeling really positive. FP4 was really good on the soft rear. I also tried the hard front. Wasn’t really a fan of it too much. Normally it works really well that 'S' [compound] but just seemed to struggle with the edge grip.
"But I'm happy with how the soft was working. 18 laps, consistently low '40s. I didn't want to push too much because I wasn't too happy with that front tyre. It was giving me a bit of grief.
"The rears are working really well. I've got great pace on both medium and soft, so I think it's just going to come down to what type of race Marc wants to ride tomorrow because it seems like he's got that pace on both tyres.
"So whether he wants to bolt at the start and then sort of manage it towards the end, or if he's going to try and save the tyre for the last couple of laps. We'll just have to play it by ear, see what happens and be prepared for both scenarios I guess. I feel we've done our homework all weekend and we're ready to go."
Miller added that last year's winner Cal Crutchlow is also looking strong, while the likes of Andrea Dovizioso and Valentino Rossi are also likely contenders.
"I think ours is probably the second-best pace, if you look at the timesheets over the whole weekend we've definitely been consistent, punching out the laps. But between myself, Marc and Cal – Cal's looking quite strong on pace. His are never really too consistent, but that's Cal. He throws in three laps then one slow one and then another two or three laps," Miller said.
"I feel good, but I think those two boys are looking really strong. But you can't count out Dovi, Vale. They are all going to be there in the race. We just have to do our best and also hope for some good weather…"