Ducati MotoGP ace Jack Miller shot to the podium in Thailand after his victory in Japan. But he knows where he lost the race against Miguel Oliveira.
Jack Miller led the difficult wet race early on in Buriram, Thailand, and later went into a bitter fight with Red Bull KTM rain artist Miguel Oliveira. After his second overtaking attempt in the final corner, the Portuguese kept the upper hand and won the race just ahead of the Australian. Oliveira was a real force on the KTM RC16, especially in the final sector of the track.
Miller (27), who will now marry his girlfriend Ruby in the days of the Australia trip, was still very happy with second place. “It was only two warm-up laps that we had in the rain. It was stressful. In general, I’m quite fast in every first session in the rain. In the middle sector – around turn 5 – I lost a bit; Miguel was really super fast there. I almost felt a little stiff there.”
Speaking of which: “JackAss” Miller even still has a chance in the World Cup table – at least in the top 3. Miller is 40 points behind championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha), who failed to score in Buriram. Aleix Espargaró is only 20 points ahead of Jack. 75 World Championship points will still be awarded in the three remaining races in 2022. “We’re still fighting for the World Cup, okay. As long as we get this thing home to Bologna, it’ll be fine. Now we’re going to rock Phillip Island in two weeks.”
Miller analyses: «The first few times I countered against Miguel. But it was a long, stressful race. I then wanted to try again in the finish. In sectors 3 and 4 I had problems throughout the race. I then wanted to take more risks right there, came off the dry line and had to straighten the bike. So I was no longer able to attack in the last corner. It was a fantastic day for the team, Pecco also had an excellent race. It was a good day for us in terms of the World Cup.”
“I was really strong in the first sections, I was able to brake very well after the straights. I felt very good. But we lacked a bit of weight transfer, we put a bit too much load on the tires,” said Miller, who motivated his teammate Pecco Bagnaia. “I just told him he had to believe in it. He has done a great job so far, after all the best drivers in the world are here. I think it helped.”
MotoGP result, Buriram (2.10.):
1. Oliveira, KTM, 25 Rdn in 41:44,503 min
2. Miller, Ducati, + 0,730 sec
3. Bagnaia, Ducati, + 1,968
4. Zarco, Ducati, + 2,490
5. Marc Marquez, Honda, +2,958
6. Bastianini, Ducati, + 13,257
7. Viñales, Aprilia, + 14.566
8. Alex Marquez, Honda, +14,861
9. Martin, Ducati, +15,365
10. Brad Binder, KTM, + 18,097
11. Aleix Espargaró, Aprilia, + 19,041
12. Rins, Suzuki, +19,659
13. Morbidelli*, Yamaha, +22,439
14. Pol Espargaro, Honda, +23,646
15. Raúl Fernández, KTM, +30,483
16. Bezzecchi, Ducati, + 33,466
17. Quartararo, Yamaha, +34,072
18. By Giannantonio, Ducati, + 36.203
19. Crutchlow, Yamaha, +36,532
20. Petrucci, Suzuki, + 42.508
21. Darryn Binder, Yamaha, + 49,992
22. Nagashima, Honda, +51,346
23. Marini, Ducati, 2 laps back
– Remy Gardner, KTM, 14 laps back
*= 3-second penalty (because of «track limits»)
MotoGP World Championship standings (after 17 of 20 races):
1. Quartararo 219 Punkte. 2. Bagnaia 217. 3. Aleix Espargaró 199. 4. Bastianini 180. 5. Miller 179. 6. Brad Binder 154. 7. Zarco 151. 8. Oliveira 131. 9. Martin 127. 10. Viñales 122. 11. Rins 112. 12. Marini 101. 13. Marc Márquez 84. 14. Bezzecchi 80. 15. Mir 77. 16. Alex Márquez 50. 17. Pol Espargaró 49. 18. Nakagami 46. 19. Morbidelli 31. 20. Di Giannantonio 23 21. Dovizioso 15. 22. Darryn Binder 10. 23. Gardner 9. 24. Raúl Fernández 9. 25. Crutchlow 3. 26. Bradl 2.
Constructors’ Championship:
1. Ducati 391 points (title winner). 2. Aprilia 235. 3. Yamaha 224. 4. KTM 206. 5. Suzuki 138. 6. Honda 124.
Team World Cup:
1. Ducati Lenovo Team 396 Punkte. 2. Aprilia Racing 321. 3. Red Bull KTM Factory 285. 4. Prima Pramac Racing 278. 5. Monster Energy Yamaha 250. 6. Gresini Racing 203. 7. Suzuki Ecstar 189. 8. Mooney VR46 Racing 181. 9. Repsol Honda 135. 10. LCR Honda 96. 11. WithU Yamaha RNF 28. 12. Tech3 KTM Factory 18.