Jack Miller believes “The Pace is there,” despite being sent in the first quarter at Spain’s MotoGP in a practice accident late on Friday.
Pramac Yamaha Rider was on the course to ensure direct Q2 access when a turn 7 fall ended his hopes during the final time attack.
“It’s a shame, but there’s a pace. The bike felt good in the morning,” Miller said.
“On the first lap on the new tire, I was behind the mark and we hit a yellow flag and we had to cancel. It was still my best lap.”
On his second attempt, Miller pushed again. This time he’s behind former Ducati teammate Francesco Bagnaia.
Australia saved the front-end tack on Turn 1, but overloaded the front again while chasing the Red Machine.
“On the second tire, I was following Pecco and I pushed the front in turn 1, but somehow I saved it. Even so, I lost time and had to push the next two corners hard to close the gap,” he said.
“I felt strong, but I got a little hot on Turn 7, not stopping too much from the rear, forced the front a bit, and the bike gave up – I went.
“We need a little more support from braking the engine. We’re sure we’ll sort it out for tomorrow.”
Miller’s best time was just 0.235 seconds after the Q2 cut, but Monster Yamaha’s Fabio Qualu Tararo highlighted the possibility of an M1 at Geres and led the session towards fifth place.
“This old-fashioned circuit really seems to fit Yamaha,” said Pramac team manager Gino Bolsoy.
“We are clearly disappointed with Jack’s crash.
“But his pace is very encouraging, both on one lap and on the race trim. It gives us a lot of confidence towards the sprint and Sunday.”
On the other side of the Pramac Garage, Augusto Fernandez finished the day on the 20th.
“We had to change some setups, which gave me a better feeling,” Fernandez said. “But we still don’t get a lot of support from the rear, which makes things tricky.
“The frontend feels great. You can see it from Fabio’s pace – and we’re narrowing the gap.”