Making headlines throughout the British MotoGP at Silverstone has been Ducati’s new ‘Stegosaurus-like’ aero package on the rear of its bikes.
Whether it’s the factory team, Pramac, Gresini or the Mooney VR46 outfit, Ducati has given all of their riders the chance to test the new aero package.
And while Enea Bastianini claimed it was helping him under braking following Friday practice, Miller is unconvinced after stating he feels ‘no benefit’.
Miller said: “I don’t know about benefit. It’s definitely not the easiest thing on the eye but they seem to be happy with it. I mean, I’m the donkey that sits on the bike.
“In my honest opinion I can’t feel anything. Except I just have to watch it with my leg when I put my leg over the bike. I can’t feel anything while riding. We need to analyze it more obviously, but for the moment nothing.”
When asked if he wanted to test the new wings after they first appeared on Bastianini’s Gresini Ducati and Jorge Martin’s Pramac machine, Miller stated: “They [just] gave it to me.”
While it might not be making a difference to the feeling he has aboard his GP-22 machine, Miller is just glad to be receiving parts and not being ‘locked out’ of data, something that has happened before when riders have agreed to join another team following the current season.
“At the end of the day they were straight up with me,” said Miller when talking about Ducati providing him with the same treatment as all its other riders. “Once I told them [I was leaving] we had this discussion and as you say, it’s very unusual for a factory to give a rider updates especially when the rider is leaving.
“But they’ve been 100% honest with me throughout the whole lot and also you see what they do with all the bikes they have on the grid.
“They give them the maximum that they can. It’s in Ducati’s DNA and it’s a massive thing from Gigi [Dall’Igna] and they are really pushing for that.
“On that side of things I greatly appreciate it because there is nothing worse than not getting updates or being locked out of data etc. It’s nice to have that, for sure.”
Zarco ready for Silverstone ‘present’ – can he take his first MotoGP win?
Starting alongside Miller on the front row for Sunday’s Grand Prix will be Johann Zarco after the French rider secured pole with a new lap record.
Nearly a tenth clear of Maverick Vinales, Zarco’s main challengers for victory are potentially all on the second row as Fabio Quartararo will start directly ahead of Francesco Bagnaia and Aleix Espargaro.
Still bidding for his first win in MotoGP, Zarco said ‘why not’ at the prospect of taking home the spoils at Silverstone.
“From Friday I’ve been quite fast and I was able to build a good step from Friday to Saturday. It means that I have more chances than usual to think about the victory.” added the two-time Moto2 champion.
“The pole position was a good confirmation and also the pace in FP4 was quite good. Why not hope for this victory.
“I will not fully focus on it [to avoid] making any mistakes. Let’s see how the others will be in the race. I hope I will get this advantage with the hard rear and get this nice present at the end.”
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