Jack Miller was full of praise for both track and tyres after the opening day of MotoGP action at the Mandalika Circuit on Friday.
The Ducati Lenovo rider finished sixth in the combined practice times, three-and-a-half-tenths off Fabio Quartararo’s leading lap, and was relishing being back on Lombok ahead of Sunday’s Indonesian GP.
“I had a lot of fun today,” Miller confirmed on Friday evening. “They’ve done an amazing job first of all to get the track in the condition that it is in already. For sure the new asphalt has made the track a lot better in the first sector. But not only that, the rest of the track was in really good condition.
“It was still a little bit dusty this morning but that’s to be expected. I don’t care how much you broom and brush the track. I mean, nothing cleans the track like motorcycles racing on it. They’ve done a fantastic job.
“I had a lot of fun, the pace is there. I did a long run in FP2, felt pretty good. Trying the softer tyre, because the tyre is new here, and just trying to understand how that will behave after some laps on it,” he said of the new Michelin allocation but would not be drawn into discussion about the disappearance of the Desmosedici’s front-ride-height device. “I don’t really want to comment too much. We are trying devices, we are testing stuff and yeah, not much to say.”
Returning to Michelin’s new rear casing, the Australian continued: “I know this tyre from the first test we did in Spielberg, the technology at least, but it’s working really, really well. I enjoyed it straightaway. There’s a lot of stability in this tyre. I can’t fault it whatsoever.
“As I said, the soft was maybe a little bit too soft just in the temperatures, because it was so hot. The ground temperature was so hot there in the afternoon. I did I think a 16-lap run, but at the end there, like after about 10 laps, I was just starting to get some overheating.
“Nice thing was, you slow down a lap and push again, immediately one lap, I was getting like one-tenth of my best time with this tyre that a lap before felt like it was falling off the edge of a cliff. So stability is there.
“Everything’s there but it’s just understanding which one we want to use, which is the pros and cons of each compound.” Asked if he prefers the stiffer structure, Miller responded: “I do in terms of the bike has a lot less pumping and a lot less carry on, especially here where you go through [turns] five-six-seven. Through there you sort of bounce off kerbs and stuff like that, and the bike stays rather stable. It’s not getting as big bouncing effect and shaking the bike so you’re not constantly on edge about what the front tyre is going to do with the bike going like this all the time. So that feels good.”
With many riders critical of the Mandalika Circuit after February’s testing visit, the Ducati rider was quick to play down the concerns.
“I never said the track was not ready for racing,” he countered. “All it needed was a sweep, I didn’t even think it needed the new asphalt but I am appreciative of them putting the new asphalt down because it made it a lot better!
“The track is 100 per cent ready for racing.
“I would like to do a practice start on the front straight, just to see how it’s going. Because I saw a couple of the guys going where the practice start area is at the bottom and it’s probably the dirtiest, least used part of the track. So it’s not ideal to gauge a good feeling on doing a start. So we will see, once we get in the safety commission this afternoon we’ll have a discussion about it and make a plan.”
