Jack Miller’s ‘educated guess’ on Sepang tyre choice backfires

Jack Miller says his “educated guess” in selecting the medium rear tyre for the MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix “didn't work”, and he had to battle a “mad vibration” for much of the race.

The Pramac rider was the only one of the 23-strong field to opt for the medium option rear, but was unable to capitalise on the compound's durability and was 19 seconds off the lead in eighth. 

Miller says he had to “spin the tyre too much” in the opening laps to stick with the leading group, and this caused it to spin on the rim and leave him to battle a “mad vibration” through to the finish, nearly crashing as a result at the final corner at one point. 

“For the race, you have to get 20 laps right here and not just one, so went with the medium compound rear tyre, and I was the only one of us on the entire grid to race it – everyone else used the soft,” Miller said in his column for redbull.com.

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“It was a bit of an educated guess for all of us with tyre choice, and mine didn't work. I wanted to do something different because it was the hottest it had been all week, the track temps were up around 54 degrees before the race. 

“I got a good start again, up to third at the first corner and was able to run some good laps early, but I had to spin the tyre too much too early to stay with the front guys. 

“The tyre actually spun on the rum and it went out of balance, so I had this mad vibration for half the race. 

“It got worse as the race went on, I had a big save at the last corner on one lap. I wore right through my leathers on my arm, not even the elbow slider, so it was a luck save for sure.”

Miller says he felt compelled to gamble on tyre choice as opting for the same soft option as the factory riders would have seen him “probably finish behind them”, the race becoming  a “game of follow the leader”. 

“When you're racing the factory guys, doing the same as them with tyres means you're going to probably finish behind them because of the equipment they have. 

“It'd become a game of follower the leader where you know where you'll finish, more or less. If the medium tyre had paid off for me, it would have looked like a masterstroke. 

“You have to try to do something different to come up with a different outcome. I'm not under any pressure from behind in the championship, so there's nothing to lose, so I thought I'd give the medium a go.”