Jack Miller has given his tick of approval to the Red Bull Ring’s new MotoGP chicane, even if he will miss the “arse-clenching” Turn 2 sweeper.
This weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix will be the first with the new, right-left complex, which was unveiled in March.
Known officially as Turns 2A and 2B, the chicane was installed after a horror crash in 2020 which saw Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales both nearly hit by flying motorcycles as they rounded Turn 3, at the top of the hill.
“I’m just happy that they’ve done something, before something [bad] happened,” said Miller.
“We’ve had a couple of close calls and the bikes shaking and carrying on with the wind and everything that’s coming off a bike doing 350km/h up there wasn’t ideal.
“So, I think [the chicane] will be better; I don’t think there’s any real negatives to come from it.
Take the short survey.
“I think it’ll make the racing better, by opening up that next corner to be more of a passing zone than before.
“Because, at less speed you’ve got more margin to be able to stop the bike. If you brake one second later at 350 you’re going off the end of the track; if you brake one second later at 200, it’s a big difference.”
Regardless of those comments, the Ducati Lenovo Team rider will miss the challenge of the old Turn 2, which Formula 1 continues to use.
“It was probably, along with Mugello, the most arse-clenching moment of the championship,” he declared.
“Because, you come out of [Turn 1], hug the white line going down the straight and then tip it left at like 340, 350km/h.
“There’s also that wall on the inside that you were sort of aiming towards.
“You’re going to miss that because it was cool, but you’re not going miss it when you’re in a slipstream, absolutely [shaking] out of control with a tank-slapper, and then trying to grab the brakes that aren’t there anymore.”
Ducati stablemate Johann Zarco was penalised with a pit lane start for the following race given it was his contact with Franco Morbidelli which led to the shocking 2020 crash.
Zarco stated that there is now the possibility that a rider will crash and end up in the middle of the track, although he conceded alternative layouts would have been too expensive to implement.
The Pramac Racing pilot also quipped that the chicane should have been named after him, saying, “I’m a bit sad that there is not my name on it, with all the words two years ago.
“The problem two years ago was because there was contact between two riders at high speed and then a huge crash.
“Just slowing down everything, that’s a first solution to avoid this kind of accident.
“But, for a lowside, that can happen if you lose the front [on the way into the chicane], maybe now a bike [could end up] in the middle [of the track].”
Aprilia Racing’s Aleix Espargaro has ridden the chicane on his bicycle, and liked what he saw, save for the proximity of the wall on riders’ left.
He also forecast no negatives for his RS-GP, as he tried to erase Fabio Quartararo’s 22-point lead at the head of the championship.
“Yesterday, I did some laps with the bicycle, and today as well; it looks good, they did a good job there,” opined Espargaro.
“In terms of the left wall, it looks a little bit closer, so I can’t really wait until tomorrow [Friday practice] to try it with the bike and see how it works.
“I think, in terms of pure safety, it’s much better than the previous corner, and in terms of speed performance for us, I think it’s also interesting.
“The bike is quite good, quite agile on the chicane, so I think it’s going to be positive.”
Practice at the Red Bull Ring starts this evening (AEST).
Discussion about this post