"Comfortable" on the Yamaha, Miller already challenges Quartararo

After taking part in two days of Shakedown, then five days of pre-season testing, Pramac is drawing a rather positive assessment of its first steps with the Yamaha M1. During these days of riding, it was above all a question for the two riders of the team to familiarize themselves with their new machine.

While Jack Miller has made steady progress with his bike, he has often posted the same times as fabio quartararo, the benchmark for all Yamaha riders. Regularly in the top 10, the Australian impressed with his ability to adapt, both in time attack and in race simulation.

Jack Miller already at ease

He could also boast of being ahead of Álex Rins, Quartararo's teammate in the factory team, who already has a year of experience riding the M1. Enough to allow him to approach the season with confidence.

“The pre-season has been good. I feel very comfortable with the bike, and the changes we made have been a good improvement, sums up Jack Miller after the two days of testing in Thailand. Now that we are ready to race, I am done with testing. I am very excited to see what we can do when the lights go out.”

After Honda, Ducati and KTM, this is the fourth motorcycle that Jack Miller has discovered in MotoGP. However, if the bike was unknown to him, he already knows his new team, Pramac, well, having spent three seasons there (2018 – 2020), equipped with a Desmosedici GP.

"I think we've done the most we can in the offseason to be as ready as possible and now we just have to wait for the flag to drop, he continues with the same enthusiasm. Coming back to a team that I already knew well made things easier and the transition with Giacomo (Guidotti, Miller's chief mechanic. Ed.) was smooth. It's a great pleasure to work with him. The relationship is getting stronger and stronger."

Pramac at Buriram Test © Prima Pramac

Oliveira will need time

On the other side of the garage, Miguel Oliveira was in more difficulty. The Portuguese had more trouble setting good times, and will certainly need more time to adapt to the M1 at the start of the season. He complained a lot about the instability of the machine in the corners.

"We had a bit of trouble. But on this last day, we finally managed to find the right path, he rejoices. I managed to have a less nervous bike that allows me to better control the exit of the corners, reducing the movements. I am happy to have solved this problem.

"We are aware that we will have to wait for the first races to resolve others, Oliveira continues. In the meantime, I will try to adapt as much as possible to the M1 and exploit its potential. We have taken a step forward in the long term with used tires and that reassures me a lot. Now I can't wait for the season to start."

It remains to be seen where the four Yamahas will be in the hierarchy at the first round of the season, which will already take place in ten days on the Buriram circuit (Thailand).

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