Miller in confident mood ahead of German Grand Prix
Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Jack Miller has splashed his way to 13th position on the gird for tomorrow’s German Grand Prix.
The rollercoaster Sachsenring was awash with constant and at times heavy rain during the Q1 session with Miller posting the third fastest time of 1’27.967.
The Aussie rain master missed progressing through to the Q2 session by 0.272s in cold, wet and slippery conditions on the 3.67km circuit.
Despite missing a Q2 spot Miller is unfazed and is confident he has a strong pace for what will be his 40th MotoGP race start.
Miller was impressively fast in the difficult conditions and looked in control of Q1 when he went to the top of the timesheets midway through the 15-minute session.
But Miller was a spectator in the garage in the crucial final minutes when Pol Espargaro posted a fast time to bump him out of the top two for a spot in Q2.
Spanish rider Tito Rabat will start from 24th position on the grid for the 30-lap ninth round of the MotoGP World Championship.
Rabat again lacked confidence in wet conditions aboard his Honda RC213V with the weather not allowing him to capitalize on his strong pace in a dry FP3 session when he was 11th fastest.
The new asphalt on the recently resurfaced Sachsenring is producing high levels of grip in wet conditions even with track temperatures struggling to climb above 20 degrees.
Jack Miller: 13th – 1’27.967
“The session was good all the way until I got bumped out of Q2 but I have had good pace all weekend and the bike is working well in all conditions. It was a shame not to make Q2 but I feel really comfortable and confident going into the race, it is always a long, hard slog at this track. No one knows what the conditions will be for the race but we are ready. I came in early because there was really heavy rain in the final sector and I thought I had done enough for Q2 with a 1.27.9 lap.”
Tito Rabat: 24th – 1’30.028
“I did a very good FP3 session in the morning but then the rain came for qualifying and in the rain I simply cannot go faster when the bike is sliding. It is difficult to find a set-up that gives me confidence and it is very easy to crash in these conditions so if it is wet for the race we need to find some solutions. But I’m happy because in the dry I showed I can be fast.”
Michael Bartholemy – Team Principal
“In this type of weather on wet tyres you need to stay out until the last moment because you never know how the conditions will change. So for Jack coming in three minutes before the end of the session was not the best decision and that is why he was bumped by Pol Espargaro for the Q2 session. Ever since Tito came to MotoGP we know that wet conditions are very difficult for him and so it proved again today in qualifying. A shame because Tito was impressive in the dry in FP3.”