Australian MotoGP star Jack Miller rode to fourth in yesterday's season-opening MotoGP despite a numb hand which he says made him a sitting duck for passes late in the race.

Miller was in the podium hunt for the entire race and only succumbed to Andrea Dovizioso - possibly his team-mate for 2021 - two laps from the end.

"It could have been better but this was a really good race for me. The biggest issue I had was some numbness in the hand from halfway through the race. From then on, I was a sitting duck," said Miller.

"When you look at your board and it says you've got 12 laps left and your hand has gone numb it's a little depressing. I kept plugging away and doing the lap times that I felt I needed to do.

"The bike felt great, my tyres were both spectacular, nothing wrong with them, it was just a shame I couldn’t turn the grip and be as smooth on the throttle towards the end to really try and stay with Maverick."