MotoGP Portimao: “It’s safe to say the Sprint Race was a success” - Miller

Jack Miller was full of praise for the new MotoGP Sprint Race format as he dug deep to briefly lead on his debut with Red Bull KTM en route to an impressive fourth place finish.

The Australian has emerged as one of the unlikely stars of this weekend’s 2023 MotoGP World Championship opener having stolen the headlines on Friday by smashing the Portimao lap record to top the timesheets.

His fine form comes despite a low-key build up to the opening round in testing, Miller taking time adapting to the KTM RC16 following his switch from Ducati over the winter.

However, after proving his Friday form was no fluke by securing fifth on the grid - despite a tumble - Miller rallied hard during the 12-lap sprint, picking off rivals to nose into the lead briefly at the mid-way point.

Though his choice of a soft front tyre counted against him as he was bullied back down to an eventual fourth place, Miller - one of the riders expected to benefit from the introduction of a Sprint Race - was full of praise for the format changes.

“I was a bit nervous and didn’t know what to expect but it’s safe to say the first Sprint was a success,” Miller confirmed. “We threw our nose into the lead there for a little bit. I enjoyed that race a lot.”

He also lauded the ‘tireless’ work of his KTM engineers, laughing off his modest build up by saying he is a better racer than test rider.

“The team and the engineers have been working tirelessly. I’m not a good test rider: I’m a racer! I enjoy risking when it’s worth it. We’ve made some big improvements and we’re showing some potential.

“It’s been a progression and every time we go out it’s getting better and better. More and more seat time is really helping me. We will have a different strategy for