Jack Miller has given his version of events after a run-in with Aleix Espargaro late in qualifying for the Australian MotoGP at Phillip Island.
The Red Bull KTM rider sought out Espargaro as they ran through Southern Loop at slow speed, tapping him on the leg to gain his attention and then gesticulating at him, with the Spaniard responding in kind.
According to Miller, who was classified eighth in the end, he was impeded by the #41 Aprilia Racing entry on what should have been his final flying lap in Qualifying 2.
“Yeah, last lap, I had to abort,” said the Australian on Fox Sports.
“Aleix parked it in the middle of the corner and, yeah, I was heading straight for him.
“So I wanted to do one more [lap], thought I had a little bit more in me, but it wasn’t to be today.
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“But we’ll get ‘em this arvo.”
Miller gave no concrete predictions as to what might have been possible had he got another flyer on his second soft Michelin rear tyre, but nor is he particularly perturbed by the outcome.
“I mean, I just didn’t get another shot at it,” recalled ‘Jackass’.
“You get two laps on these tyres and we only got one on the last one, so…
“We’ll be right. Eighth position, I mean, we’re on the third row there so we should be able to get away to a good start and hopefully stick with these boys.”
If pre-event predictions of another pack race are correct, then a victory or podium from Row 3 is hardly an insurmountable task.
The qualifying result was, however, something of a down note for Miller after he was second to Red Bull KTM team-mate Brad Binder in Practice, with the South African going on to claim second on the starting grid.
“I didn’t really find too much from yesty,” admitted Miller.
“The wind was a little bit stronger this morning but the other boys were able to find a little bit more.
“But we’ve got some ideas, the pace is good and, yeah, we’ve got the big race today, so we’ll try and make a few little tweaks here and there, just for the wind, and we should be right.”
The Grand Prix race starts this afternoon at 15:10 local time/AEDT under the revised schedule for the weekend.
