Jack Miller reckons that superior rear tyre management compared to that of Suzuki's Alex Rins allowed him to secure his second podium finish of the season at Brno.
Miller was able to dispatch of Rins for third with just a lap-and-a-half remaining of the shortened 20-lap encounter, making the position stick at the second time of asking as he dove past the GSX-RR into Turn 5, Rins struggling with traction in the closing stages.
He initially tried to make the move at Turn 1 but ran slightly wide, allowing Rins to cut back on the more agile Suzuki, re-gaining third as a result.
Miller says that careful management of his rear tyre allowed him to close in on the Spaniard as he began to struggle
"I had to work for that one; I fought tooth and nail for that podium,” explained Miller.
“I didn’t have the best starts from the front row, I tried to aim straight for the dry part of the track but the clutch bit and the rear lit up on the damp part so it wasn’t too great but I was able to come out third after the first corner so it was pretty good damage limitation.
“The race was so fast at the start, Marc was out in front and pushing and Dovi was chasing as was Rins so I was trying to hang on in there while not destroying my rear tyre.
“I was able to do so but Rins wasn’t, but that thing (Suzuki) turns so well he was able to pull a big gap on me every lap through Turn 1, and was able to open the throttle really early.
“But I think by doing that he put a lot of stress on that right hand side of the tyre up Horsepower Hill and then the front straight he was spinning the rear up, but I was able to manage it.”
The Aussie revealed that he had very nearly decided to settle for fourth with around a third of the race remaining after he nearly tucked the front of his GP19 machine while chasing Rins.
“I had the hard front that I hadn’t used all weekend, it was better than the medium I used this morning but it still had a lot of graining on it.
“I had a few moments and nearly gave up the chase with around 7 laps to go because I nearly went down, I somehow held it up with my elbow and stayed on.”
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