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Jack Miller has not been given any team orders to bolster Ducati team-mate Francesco Bagnaia’s fading hopes of the MotoGP riders’ championship title.
The Italian is the last rider who could deny Fabio Quartararo the crown but trails the Yamaha man by 52 points and, by the time this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix is done, only 50 more will be on offer.
Miller already stated before the first round at Misano, two races ago, that he is willing to help Bagnaia win the championship, before letting #63 through as he faded in the latter stages of the Grand Prix of the Americas.
However, he maintains that there have been no specific team orders from Ducati.
“For sure, it’s a crunch point, I think,” said Miller.
“No, there’s no official anything at this point in time. I think it’s important for Ducati to try and be – if worse comes to worst – in the top three, both bikes, and we have a good chance of that.
“So, I need to pull my finger out and for sure I can also get some support coming back my way in the races to come.”
Miller revealed after the first Misano round that he was aiming for third in the championship, and moved up to fourth in the championship last time out at the Circuit of The Americas despite only finishing seventh.
The Queenslander still trails Suzuki’s Joan Mir by 26 points but says that climbing another spot in the standings would be a good outcome in an inconsistent season.
“I’d love to be able to take away a medal this year,” added Miller.
“With the ups and downs we’ve had, it would be fantastic.
“I feel like I’m in good shape, I feel the last couple of weekends, much like it was the beginning of the year, I feel like I’ve got everything there.
“It’s just putting it all together [that] has been the difficult thing, but we’ve been able to do it before and we’ll be able to do it again.
“For me, coming into these last three races, for sure it’s really important that I take the maximum points as possible and just try to be there all race, pretty much is the main goal.
“Because as we showed, we’ve had speed at every grand prix pretty much this year; it’s just whether or not we’re able to keep it there on Sunday that’s been the issue.”
Practice at Misano starts this evening (AEDT).
