No question Mandalika track is 'ready to race' - Jack Miller, 'pace is there'

Although Miller stated he was one of the riders who didn’t think a new asphalt was not needed - ‘all I said was the track needed a sweep’, the three-time MotoGP race winner has since claimed the recent resurfacing has provided much better grip.  

"I never said the track wasn’t ready for racing, all I said was the track needed a sweep," said Miller. 

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"I didn’t think it needed the new asphalt, but I’m appreciative of them putting in the new asphalt because it’s a lot better. 

"The track is 100% ready for racing. I would like to do a practice start on the front straight just to see how it’s going."

While grip has significantly improved compared to last month’s pre-season test, the newly-built Mandalika Street Circuit remains very dirty off-line, especially the front straight. 

Miller claims the track conditions will be discussed during the safety commission ahead of tomorrow's action: “I saw a couple of guys doing a practice start and it's the dirtiest and least used part of the track. It’s not a good gauge for doing a practice start. We’ll meet with the safety commission this afternoon and then make a plan.”

In terms of his position on the leaderboard, Miller was fourth fastest when it came to the Italian manufacturer’s pecking order - sixth overall - however, his race pace looks even stronger.

"I had a lot of fun today," added the Australian. "They’ve done an amazing job to get the track in the condition that it’s in already. It was still a little bit dusty this morning, but it doesn’t matter how much you broom and brush the track, nothing cleans the track like motorcycles racing on it. 

"The pace is there. I did a long run in FP2 and felt pretty good. I tried the softer tyre because that’s new here and also to try and understand how it behaves after some laps on it."

During his media debrief Miller was also asked about Ducati not running a front (holeshot) device, to which the factory Ducati rider was quick not to comment.  

Miller's response: "About that (front device) I don’t really want to comment too much. We are trying devices and testing stuff. And yeah, not much to say."