While a pair of third place finishes in the Spanish MotoGP weren’t quite enough for his wife to permit him to buy a boat, Jack Miller still left Jerez a happy man after collecting his first podiums of the 2023 MotoGP World Championship season for KTM.
On a landmark weekend for the Austrian manufacturer, Miller - together with team-mate Brad Binder - played his part in getting two KTMs inside the top three during the Sprint Race, before the pair followed it up with the team’s first-ever MotoGP podium in the full-length feature^.
Getting into the heart of the action at the front from lap one, Miller enjoyed stints in the lead during both the Sprint Race and main GP feature, but couldn’t stop Binder and Bagnaia overhauling him on both occasions.
Completing the weekend with a pair of third place finishes, the healthy haul of points lifts him to fourth in the overall standings… even if his wait for a new boat lingers on, the result of a wager with his wife that he’d get one should he become the only rider on the grid to win MotoGP races with three different manufacturers.
“I had to work for that one today! I had a great start and, like most of the boys, I was struggling with the right side of the tire by mid-race. I don’t quite know how but we started putting in some really fast laps at the end and I just couldn’t quite close up to two in front. It's an amazing feeling and I hope we are here to stay.”
Miller also took the time to sportingly praise both Binder and Bagnaia for their performances in ‘gruellingly’ hot conditions.
“The boys rode a fantastic race, it was a long gruelling race out there. Brad was phenomenal, I’m gutted for him, to lead that many laps and not land the big one is tough but he was awesome, he didn’t put a foot wrong.
“Pecco as well, he went up and down like a yo-yo, he had that penalty with me, had to drop a position then he made his way through, close the gap down on Brad and then get past him, which is no easy feat. Awesome weekend for the team.”
^ Sprint Race results are not counted towards ‘official MotoGP statistics’, thus KTM’s first official double podium was counted in the full length GP
CLICK HERE for the full 2023 MotoGP World Championship standings after the Spanish MotoGP