Jack Miller’s Misano Qualifying Gamble: Risking It All for a Shot at Bagnaia and Apologizing to Zarco

Jack Miller acknowledged taking significant risks to catch up with Pecco, stating, "I put myself in grave danger! I said sorry to Johann for aggressively overtaking him at turn 14 to get close to Pecco."

Frequently missing out on a spot among the top ten for entry into Qualifying 2 during a MotoGP weekend, Jack Miller narrowly secured his place at Misano, thanks to a helpful slipstream from Francesco Bagnaia.

The racer from Australia secured the vital tenth position by a margin of just 0.1 seconds, narrowly outpacing his Red Bull KTM colleague Brad Binder.

"Content with how the day turned out, I just barely managed, which happens from time to time," Miller remarked.

"Lately, I've found myself more often on the outside looking in, so it feels good to finally be on the positive side of things. I feel for my friend here [Binder], though. He'll bounce back without any issues tomorrow."

When asked about being towed by the current champion and leader in practice, Bagnaia, Miller responded with a smile:

I took a massive risk to achieve it! On my way in, I said sorry to Johann because I aggressively overtook him at turn 14 during his out-lap, since I was eager to catch up and keep pace with Pecco.

"I managed to keep up with [Bagnaia] through the first sector, which was pleasant for a bit! But after that, he just disappeared on us! Clearly, we have some improvements to make."

Miller pointed out that his ex-teammate from Ducati had an advantage in the section from Turn 1 to Turn 2, where he managed to maintain speed across the minor undulations. He noted that his teammate wasn't attempting to speed up between the turns, resulting in reduced bouncing of the bike.

As usual, in the third sector along the back straight, he's incredibly dominant! Looking at the data, it's almost awkward to compare when you overlay the graphics and notice the incredible velocity he maintains through Turn 11.

"There are several aspects we can improve on, but as I mentioned earlier, I'm really pleased to have advanced to Qualifying 2. Clearly, it takes a significant burden off us for tomorrow morning, allowing us to concentrate on enhancing our speed during FP3."

Miller disclosed that he has no additional modified swingarms left, as both suffered damage at Aragon.

He grinned, explaining, "I've run out, one got damaged by me, and Zarco was responsible for breaking the other one!" alluding to an incident involving the French rider during the Aragon Sprint.

"It provided us with a bit more flexibility to navigate on the bike."

Several other bike makers, among them Ducati, are currently employing particularly elongated models. This choice is notably influenced by the current performance of the tyres.

"It seems to me that the way forward involves aiming for more length and height. However, we must be patient until we receive the upcoming version."

Binder mentioned that he hasn't reached the maximum potential of his current swingarm yet.

First-year competitor Pedro Acosta led the KTM pack, securing the sixth spot on Friday.

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