Miller: Every time I jump on it, I go faster
Jack Miller continues his adaption to Ducati’s GP19; believes working on braking technique key to extracting most from his new bike.
Jack Miller has said his feeling with Ducati’s GP19 is “getting better and better” with each time he exits pit lane, after posting the eighth fastest time in the first day of MotoGP testing at Jerez.
The Australian expressed mild disbelief at the speed of factory teamsters Danilo Petrucci and Andrea Dovizioso, who ended the day first and second, but feels is able to “go faster” with every run.
“I struggled here last year in this test and I don't know if that's because of the cold but today we were quick,” he said. “So was everyone else though, but a 1m 37.9s on Day 1 isn't bad but tomorrow we'll try and get closer to the front.
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“The bike is pretty new so we're playing around with the set-up and the balance of the bike to understand it. Once we got comfortable we basically turned it upside down to see how it felt.
“We're getting through that and the feeling gets better and better. Every time I jump on the bike I get more comfortable and I get faster every time I ride it too.
“I can't make a comparison to the GP18 but compared to my old bike (the GP17) this bike turns pretty good. I said it in Valencia and it's the same here but I feel like I need to ride this bike differently compared to the GP17.
“I need to wrap my head around releasing the brake earlier. I think that process is why I'm getting faster and faster with every exit.”
On where he can improve on Thursday, he said, “I want to try and fix my lines through the fast corners at the end of the lap. I need to man up but I need to get my lines right through there too. We'll have a safety commission meeting about the asphalt but we already know that it'll be resurfaced before next year.”
Most riders noted the poor state of Jerez’s track surface, with ruts appearing at turns one, two and six in particular.
“The asphalt is rubbish and I'm tensing up through turn one, turn two and turn six because you've got only a tiny piece of asphalt that is ride-able beside the kerb. We don't have the grippy paint on the white line that we usually have so you're trying to avoid that too.
“You're trying not to touch the black marks too where they glue in the stones. I got through one day and I'll try and get through tomorrow and then get into the off-season. You need to be precise through those sections.”
