Jack Miller felt like a “sitting duck” on the final few laps of the MotoGP Sprint race in Jerez after exhausting his rear tyre on the Red Bull KTM.
The Australian was embroiled in a scintillating duel with team-mate Brad Binder at the front but eventually finished third, with a mistake on the brakes on the last lap of the 11-lap encounter allowing Francesco Bagnaia to snatch the runner-up spot on the factory Ducati.
Miller, though, was still delighted to earn his first MotoGP Sprint podium at Round 4 as he continued to impress on the factory RC16 after joining the Austrian manufacturer from Ducati for 2023.
“It was a mega race there by Brad and myself, we were having a good dice there,” Miller said.
“I murdered the ‘drive’ part of the tyre and I just started suffering on the back straight, and I was just a sitting duck. Then I made a mistake on the last lap, just went extra deep and had a couple of locks, and that let Pecco through, made it easy for him.
“So a little disappointed but I’m stoked because it’s the fourth race and we’ve been challenging, and I’ve got to be happy to be on the podium in the Sprint; it’s nice – my first experience – and it’s awesome to see both those bikes up there.”
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Miller also paid tribute to KTM test rider Dani Pedrosa, who finished sixth on another of the Red Bull machines as the 37-year-old rolled back the years at his home GP, where he is competing as a wildcard.
Pedrosa was also fastest in Practice 1 on Friday and is clearly not there to make up the numbers.
“It’s not only me, Dani as we’ve all seen is one of the best test riders in the world and he’s doing a fantastic job,” Miller said.
“The whole project has taken a step this year and it’s awesome.”
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