Jack Miller blasts wet Qatar MotoGP format-change as “a joke”

Jack Miller made it clear that he did not want to change the Qatar MotoGP practice session because of wet weather.

An unexpected downpour prompted riders to vote on whether to tweak the weekend’s format, and the majority opted for a shorter Friday practice session which did not count towards qualifying.

But KTM’s Miller was not in favour of altering the format.

“It was wet,” Miller was quoted by Motorsport.

“The conditions were the conditions. We should have had a P2.

“To continue changing the rules and changing the strategy and changing the whole f*****g weekend is a joke. It wasn't necessary.

“At the end of the day we are riders. We are paid to ride to the conditions, not to complain about every time it rains or every time it's windy.

“I understand the stuff that can really mess you up. But when it's riding to the conditions…

“We are all riding out there with tinted visors. A full-tinted visor in the night.

“Rain is rain, it was everywhere. You can see where the muddy line was forming, it was not an issue whatsoever."

Marc Marquez topped the timesheet of the shortened second practice session on Friday.

He was also not in favour of tweaking the format of the weekend.

But the majority of MotoGP riders opted for a safety-first approach.

Jorge Martin, fastest in the dry FP1 session, said about the decision to delay qualifying access until Saturday: “I feel it was a nice decision.

“It was too risky to try to push with those conditions.

“Also, it wasn't counting, so it made no sense.”