Jack Miller pulled no punches after aiming a dig at some of his fellow MotoGP rivals after the German Grand Prix, telling them to ‘shut the f**k up and get on with the job’.
The hard-talking Aussie said KTM riders were the ‘only ones’ not complaining about their machines after Ducati dominated Sunday’s main race, filling the top five positions, with Miller in sixth the only non-Ducati rider inside the first nine in the classification.
Factory Yamaha riders Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo were down in 12th and 13th respectively as their struggles continued on the Japanese machine, while Marc Marquez withdrew from the race after fracturing his finger in a spill in morning warm-up – his fifth crash of the weekend on the Repsol Honda.
Yamaha have only one podium to show for their efforts after seven rounds, while a win for Alex Rins on the LCR Honda at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas appears to have been a one-off.
Asked post-race about his rivals’ struggles, Miller didn’t hold back.
“We’re the only ones not complaining about our motorcycles and we’re actually trying to do something about it to fix it,” he said. “All they do is throw their toys out of their cot and say ‘my bike is shit’ – it’s as simple as that.”
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Miller also wasn’t in the mood to listen to a suggestion that some of his rivals’ machines were not as competitive as his RC16.
“But why are they shit? Because they kicked out 99 percent of their engineers to get his engineers, his guys in there. And now they’re f**ked and he can’t even make it past a lap.
“So, it’s their own doing. Everyone wants to complain about their own bikes, nobody wants to do anything about it.
“Shut the f**k up and get on with the job. You’re paid to ride a motorcycle, not to be a f**king princess and complain about your bike.”
Miller did not name any specific riders, although Honda, Yamaha and Aprilia riders have voiced their discontent after falling behind Ducati’s level this season.
Assessing his distant sixth-place finish in Sunday’s race, Miller – who was on the rostrum in third in the Sprint – said he was ‘missing a bit’.
“We’re missing a little bit,” Miller said.
“I was pushing my maximum; I had a moment [through the Waterfall turn] and got caught up in the group there.
“We’ve had decent pace all weekend, just missing that little bit of outright speed.
“We were closer here than we were in Mugello, but just missing those first couple of laps, a tenth there, a tenth here,” he added.
“Those Ducatis in front are especially able to just find that little bit of extra pace and then button it down.
“But nonetheless happy enough with the job done today. The team’s working amazing.
“We’re still very early on in this project and to be the only ones there challenging these Ducatis is bloody good.”
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