Miller readying himself for MotoGP debut

The highest profile rookie of 2015 is undoubtedly Jack Miller with the Australian making the jump from Moto3 to MotoGP having finished runner-up to Alex Marquez in last year’s Moto3 title tussle. His reward for winning six races last year, including in Qatar, was to ride for the LCR-Honda squad and having completed a promising winter testing programme he will make his premier class debut next Sunday in Qatar.

Speaking to MCN about the challenges of riding a MotoGP machine at the Losail circuit Miller said:

“Going around here on the GP bike is awesome! The track flows really well and I’m gelling here better than at Sepang. In Sepang we really struggled to get out of the slower corners but here it’s really flowing and it’s a high corner speed track that’s really flowing and it seems to suit us. Sepang is more of a stop-start circuit where you have to make a ‘V’ into the corner but here it’s about letting it flow and carrying the high corner speed so that’s similar to Moto3.”

Having ridden the bike with minimal electronic aids in the early winter tests Miller has gradually been learning more and more about the electronics package with his crew chief, Cristian Gabarrini, gradually easing more and more electronics onto the bike.

“We’re working a lot with setup and the electronics. We’re basically using the whole system now and I’m learning how to use that. They haven’t rushed me with too many things at once because my head would explode! We’re just working on one area at a time so that I can get a clearly understanding of what each electronic aid does. There’s not too much that we’re using and we put something on, then take it away and see where we’re at with it. Like I said here it’s a funny track because there’s not a lot of grip and the bike is sliding a lot but it seems to be working for us.

“They’ve made it as clear as possible for me and of course it’s hard to get your head around it all because in Moto3 you come in and say that we need to lift the front or drop the front. Now in MotoGP I’m coming in and saying that we need more engine braking in one corner, a bit less in another and that’s better but it’s another thing to come in and have to give so much feedback.”