MotoGP Malaysia: Jack Miller details turnaround in form after strong Friday in Sepang
The KTM rider credited a return to the ‘normal’ rear tyre casing, after experiencing some difficulties on the stiffer heat-resistant construction, for feeling instantly comfortable at Sepang.
“From the get-go, I felt pretty good. It's always nice putting the standard tyre back in,” Miller told MotoGP.com.
“I struggled a lot last weekend [in Thailand] with the other casing that we have for those sorts of tracks - Thailand, India, [Indonesia] and Spielberg.
"So it was nice to, let's say, have my normal bike back.
“The bike’s working really well around here, it’s quite a different bike to what we rode here at the beginning of year [in testing], so we’ve definitely moved in the right direction.
“My pace was good in FP2. I was able to put some consistent laps together and keep it in the ‘59s. I feel relatively comfortable but everybody's going extremely fast.
“So we'll have to try and find obviously a little bit more overnight, but nonetheless pretty happy to be back in the top three.”
Team-mate Brad Binder was just a fraction slower than Miller in fourth, completing a strong turnaround after KTM’s struggles in the February pre-season test.
“Really good. I’m happy,” Binder said. “I was actually surprised, the lap times came quite nicely and it’s not always like that here. I was on a really quick lap when I lost the front, so I think I’ve got a little bit more.
“It wasn’t working at all [here] at the test! So clearly, we’ve done a good job since and made positive steps. We’ve got the bike working in a much better way, especially on new tyres.”
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Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
