Jack Miller (12th) fell back: “We were competitive for 24 laps”

Starting from 11th on the grid, Jack Miller got off to a good start on his Pramac Yamaha and capitalised on Franco Morbidelli’s (Ducati) poor start. For a long time, things were looking very good for the Australian: Miller was running in 8th place and holding his own in the battle for the top 10. However, towards the end of the race, his pace dropped and he was pushed back to 12th place. The Australian has 19 World Championship points to his name ahead of the summer break.

New mapping slowed Miller down – it wasn’t a mistake

Miller’s own assessment was consequently mixed: “It was going well until about five laps from the end. But then the tyres fell off – in the truest sense of the word.” He initially felt comfortable behind Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha): “He had a bit more drive out of all the right-hand corners; I had to push in other areas. I tried to look after the tyres.” With four laps to go, he had to take drastic action: “I changed the mapping because I was starting to struggle. I had no power left.”

Luca Marini, who overtook Miller in the closing stages, had the impression that the Australian had suffered a technical fault. Miller dismissed this and pointed to the change in mapping: “The final mapping wasn’t ideal. Up until then I felt strong, but the tyre was also on its last legs; otherwise I would simply have reverted to the previous mapping. I thought it was necessary because the rear tyre was starting to spin too much on the straights.” He left open for the time being whether they’d miscalculated.

Willkommen zum Rennen am Sachsenring

Foto: Gerhard Schiel

Grid Girls

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Jorge Martin

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Fans

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Marc Márquez

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Paddock

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Paddock

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Fabio Di Giannantonio

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Start des Rennens

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Start des Rennens

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Blick auf die Strecke

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Fabio Quartararo

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Alex Márquez

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Martin und Bagnaia

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Fans

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Fernández und Ogura

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Pedro Acosta

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Paddock

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Luca Marini

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Marc Márquez

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Pecco Bagnaia

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Binder und Moreira

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Marc Márquez gewinnt das Rennen

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Sieger Marc Márquez

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Sieger Marc Márquez

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Ai Ogura, Marc Márquez, Raúl Fernández

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Sieger Marc Márquez

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Willkommen zum Rennen am Sachsenring

© Gerhard Schiel

Small steps forward in the Yamaha project

Despite the setback, Miller is taking positives from the weekend. They had deliberately avoided making any drastic changes to the set-up, even though he would have liked more grip. “The bike was reasonably competitive in the sprint and over the 24-lap race. Progress is being made; we’re getting closer and closer.” Hopes now rest on the three-week break: “Hopefully the lads will find something in those three weeks so that we have an improved bike for the second half of the season.” He wasn’t surprised that the Sachsenring suited the Yamaha better than expected. The circuit doesn’t demand an excessive amount of power.

Miller was clear about his own situation within the challenging Yamaha project. His future remains open: “I knew there would be difficult days on this project. That’s what I signed up for. We’ll take the wins when we can get them – the small wins, the small steps forward. I’ll keep working on myself; that’s all I can do. I’m trying to become a better rider. And hopefully we’ll keep improving the bike.”