Jack Miller admitted that he was “really struggling to run the pace” on his MotoGP KTM bike at the French Grand Prix, labelling his retirement as “a real head-scratcher”.
Miller was running in the lower end of the points, before crashing out at Turn 11 with 11 laps to go.
KTM had its worst weekend of the 2024 season, with rookie Pedro Acosta also falling off his bike early on.
Miller was not only concerned about his crash, but more so about his lack of race pace considering his speed in warm-up earlier in the day.
“I struggled to stay in the [1m]31s, struggled to do any 31s,” he said (via Autosport).
“This morning on a used tyre [in warm-up], it felt mega, I was able to run 31s consistently by myself. But come race time, I’m really struggling to run the pace.
“The bike started feeling better and better as the race went on.
“I didn’t do anything different [where I crashed], braked at the same spot. I was 1km/h faster than the lap before, but not the fastest I’ve gone in there – straight up and down she locked.
“A real head-scratcher just trying to understand what we can do differently to try and turn the ship around. But it’s a difficult moment for sure.”
Miller explained he was in good stead in long runs during practice and warm-up with the race setup without traffic, but was unable to transfer that same speed during the race while being in the mix.
The Australian was unable to provide any reasoning for this difference, but believes he and KTM need to work together to find the solution to turn their fortunes around.
“Saturday afternoon [in sprint] I really struggled a lot on Turn 1 and [it was the] same today.
“And this morning, it was no issue whatsoever at Turn 1 and the same throughout the rest of the weekend. I literally said on Friday that it’s the most stable and the most comfortable the bike’s ever felt at Turn 1. Might have jinxed myself.
“Just trying to understand what exactly it is, how we can try to run the pace when the other bikes are around and when we are around the other boys because I’m really suffering.
“I was able to do good lap times alone and stay really consistent in the 31s. Literally in that FP3 it felt like I could ride around smoking a cigarette and doing it.
“Trying to work it out, trying to understand what I need to do differently. I’ve been an open book this year and trying to do everything I can and it will turn, but it’s just a matter of when.”
