Jack Miller expressed a playful competitive spirit following a lively practice session for the Thai Grand Prix. Where he and title leader Jorge Martin showcased their skills with impressive stoppies. Martin, who finished second in the Friday practice, performed a series of eye-catching stoppies into the pit lane. But Miller answered back with a thrilling display on his KTM, prompting a thumbs-up from his rival.
“I saw Martin doing his stoppies, so I thought I had to hold my own… It’d be nice to beat him on the track and not in a stoppie competition!” Miller remarked with a smile after the session.
Despite his entertaining antics, Miller struggled to find his rhythm during the practice session. Although he started strong and was positioned fifth as the time attacks commenced, he ultimately slipped to 13th place, missing out on direct access to Qualifying 2 by a narrow margin of just 0.155 seconds.
“It’s the story of the last six months,” Miller reflected. “The pace was good, consistently there on the medium tire at the beginning of the session. My first two time attacks were solid, but I just couldn’t put it all together on the last one. I experienced too many moments, especially in the middle part of the track.”
Miller highlighted specific challenges, particularly at Turn 5, which he noted affected his performance through subsequent corners. “I’m losing the front at Turn 5, which then continues through Turn 6, Turn 7, and again at Turn 8. Every time I push, I struggle to finish the corner. I have to rely on the rear tire to help me turn mid-corner during a hot lap.”
Looking ahead, Miller remains optimistic about making adjustments overnight. “The pace is strong, but the most important thing in MotoGP these days is securing a decent qualifying position, and we’re going the long way around yet again.”
As he approaches the final stages of his factory KTM career, Miller feels he has made progress in recent rounds despite ongoing challenges. “I’m just trying to ride around the issues I’m facing. The other two [Brad Binder and Pedro Acosta] are on the new chassis, and we’re not. So, I’m focused on my riding technique, trying to absorb the bumps and minimize any issues.”
Fortunately, the extreme chatter he experienced at Motegi has not reappeared at Buriram. “It’s a bit present in Turn 4, but not too bad,” he noted.
Before his impressive stoppie in the afternoon session, Miller entertained fans with a rolling burnout on the main straight after a practice start mishap. “We just wanted to try the ‘110’ [holeshot] device. I’m not a big fan of it, honestly. As soon as you put bike down that low on the front, the rear starts spinning almost immediately,” he explained. “I took off gently, but as soon as I let the clutch out, the rear tire lit up. I just carried it on for the fans, knowing I wasn’t using that device again!”
Pedro Acosta secured direct access to Qualifying 2, finishing seventh, while Binder narrowly missed out, placing 11th, just 0.001 seconds behind. Augusto Fernandez rounded out the session in 20th, yet he was still within 1.3 seconds of the fastest lap set by Marc Marquez on his Gresini Ducati. As the teams prepare for qualifying, all eyes will be on Miller to see if he can turn his practice performance around.
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