Ducati's Miller “hit a wall” with tyres in Qatar
Ducati’s Jack Miller says he “hit a wall” with rear grip in the closing stages of the MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix, which caused his slump from podium contention to ninth.


Miller, teammate Francesco Bagnaia and Pramac duo Johann Zarco and Jorge Martin monstered the field off the line to occupy the top four places on the opening lap.
But all of them hit trouble as the race wore on, with Miller suffering with a loss of grip late on despite making a gentle start to his race in a bid to keep his rubber fresh for a closing battle – a tactic which carried Andrea Dovizioso to Qatar victories in 2018 and 2019 on the Ducati.
A strong headwind also hampered the Ducatis in terms of top speed, but Miller doesn’t feel this played a part in his struggles.
“The wind for sure wasn’t ideal but it was the same for everybody,” said Miller on Sunday evening. “Definitely wasn’t as bad as it was in the afternoon but still wasn’t pleasant.
“We had a really good start, was able to push as I liked – not too hard at the beginning but maybe 12-14 laps to the end, when [Maverick] Vinales came past, I said, ‘OK now it’s time to start upping the pace’. I was able to drop my pace to the low 1m55s for a few laps and then, bang, I sort of hit a wall and started losing the rear mid-corner.
“I was just trying to manage the tyre in the beginning and it didn’t really work so we need to understand what I’m doing, what the others are doing. It’s the first race of the season, we start from here.”
Read Also:
Bagnaia suffered a similar drop-off late on, but was able to bounce back on the final lap to pass the Suzuki of Joan Mir on the run to the line to snatch third. Commenting on his last-gasp run to the podium, Bagnaia claimed he “risked a lot” to ensure he started his factory Ducati career on the rostrum.
“I took a lot of risk in the last lap because after a race like this, I was not happy without a podium,” he said. “So, I pushed a lot, I risked a lot to chase Johann and Joan.
“And when I see Joan goes wide in the last corner, I tried to exit more perfect than my fastest lap in the qualifying and it was impossible to not overtake him because our bike is so strong and with an exit like this it was impossible to not overtake him.”
Miller conceded ninth was better than nothing, but says these are results he ‘doesn’t want’ now he is a factory team rider.
“Now we’re in the factory team, we don’t want to be in ninth position but that was the cards we were given today,” he added. “It’s better than zero points – nine points is better than zero – but, we need to understand what happened today and work on it for next week.
“We have another race here in seven days so we need to analyse and try to work on it. For sure, in the wind was a bit of a strange one but I felt like I had the package to fight, for half of the race at least, to fight for the victory.
“I felt calm, but seven seconds away [from the win], so we need to find seven seconds over the next seven days, simple as that.”
Related video

Vinales feels “Yamaha is back” after Qatar MotoGP win
Quartararo: Vinales "in another league" in Qatar MotoGP

Latest news
Why Ducati holds all the power in its MotoGP rider dilemma
OPINION: The French Grand Prix looks to have made Ducati’s decision on its factory team line-up simpler, as Enea Bastianini stormed to his third win of the campaign and Jorge Martin crashed out for a fifth time in 2022. But, as Ducati suggests to Motorsport.com, it remains in the strongest position in a wild rider market
The seismic aftershock of Suzuki's decision to leave MotoGP
Suzuki's sudden decision to leave the MotoGP World Championship at the end of the season has acted as a stirring element in a market that had already erupted. We analyse what this means for the grid going into 2023
How the real Ducati began to emerge in MotoGP's Spanish GP
Ducati’s 2022 MotoGP bike has had a tough start to life and the expected early-season title charge from Francesco Bagnaia did not materialise. But the Spanish Grand Prix signalled a turning point for both the GP22 and Bagnaia, as the 2021 runner-up belatedly got his season underway after a straight fight with Fabio Quartararo
How praise for Honda's MotoGP bike has given way to doubt
In a little over two months, Honda has gone from setting the pace in MotoGP testing with its new RC213V prototype to being at a crossroads - caused by the discrepancy in its riders' feedback. After a Portuguese GP that underwhelmed, serious questions are now being asked of Honda in 2022
Why Quartararo's win was vital not only for his title hopes
Fabio Quartararo got his MotoGP title defence off the ground in the Portuguese Grand Prix as a dominant first win of 2022 rocketed him to the top of the standings. While a significant result in terms of his title hopes, it has come at an even more important time in terms of his 2023 contract negotiations
The MotoGP rookie fighting two fronts in his debut year
Darryn Binder has found himself in the unenviable position as MotoGP's most under-pressure rookie in 2022 having made the step directly from Moto3 with a reputation as an over-aggressive rider. This hasn't been an easy thing to shake at the start of the season, but he believes tangible progress is being made
How ‘Beast’ mode is putting Ducati in 2022 MotoGP title contention
Enea Bastianini’s second win of the 2022 campaign at COTA puts him back in the lead of the standings and once again showed the best Ducati package is still the 2021 bike. Those closest to Bastianini tell Motorsport.com why he’s so good on the GP21 relative to his factory counterparts.
How Espargaro helped Aprilia shed MotoGP's underdog tag
Aleix Espargaro became MotoGP's newest winner in a thrilling Argentina Grand Prix in which he also proved the merits of the Aprilia project. After six years of hard graft, both parties have reaped the rewards they have long thought they deserved. But it was several key moments in that journey that led both to that momentous Sunday at Termas de Rio Hondo.