Jack Miller heads into his first Austrian MotoGP as a home KTM rider confident the RC16 can take on the dominant Ducatis.
The Italian machines have won seven times in nine races at the stop-go Red Bull Ring.
Miller was on the receiving end of one of those defeats, as a Ducati rider in the short 2020 ‘Styrian GP’ restart, which saw a three-way final turn showdown with the KTMs of Pol Espargaro and Miguel Oliveira.
KTM then added another home victory when Brad Binder stayed on slicks in the rain in 2021. It remains the RC16’s most recent ‘grand prix’ win and means Ducati is yet to be beaten in a ‘normal’ Red Bull Ring MotoGP race.
But Miller thinks the era of automatic Ducati dominance at Spielberg is “gone”.
“All the bikes are missiles now,” he said on Thursday. “If we saw the Aprilia last weekend [at Silverstone], how strong both those things were come the end of the race, that’s the way the championship is now.
“All these bikes are extremely strong. All these riders are extremely strong and anybody can win on any given day. So we just got to put ourselves in the right position and be ready for whatever Mother Nature or the track throws at us.”
The Australian added: “I’m really looking forward to the bike around here. It stops well, accelerates well, turns good. It does everything that a good bike around this track should do. So fingers crossed we can challenge for it this weekend.”
One area where Ducati still has a clear advantage over KTM is in terms of bike numbers, something that might change if the Austrian factory is able to secure more grid places in 2024.
“The more the merrier,” said Miller of more KTMs on the grid. “I mean, it always helps, there’s more data to look at. There’s more information, there’s more riders. It’s always easier when there’s more bikes that’s for certain.
“Because, in Ducati’s position, there’s eight guys riding the bike. You’ve got eight lots of data, you’re getting eight times the amount of laps. So they’re getting double the information that we’re getting every session [now].
“OK, some of their bikes are different years But I tell you, they’re pretty close so that doesn’t make a massive difference.”
The Austrian MotoGP is also expected to be the first event where the new tyre pressure regulations, with time penalties for breaching the minimum for too long, have a real impact.
“In Silverstone I don’t think we really got to see much [tyre pressure issues] with it being really cold and raining in some spots, so you weren’t putting the pressure in,” he said.
“If it stays dry here, it’ll be the first place [it has an impact] for sure because here is a crucial track for that. If you go over the pressure. You’re not going to stop the thing and if you go under, you’re going to get a penalty. So we’ll wait and see.”
Miller has previously suggested that the Ducati is more pressure sensitive than the KTM.
The Red Bull Ring circuit was modified for last season, with a new chicane added to slow down the field on the run to turn 3.
“It’s different,” Miller said of why he likes the venue. “I think that’s probably one of the best ways to put it… and then also the elevation changes are quite cool.
“And don’t get me wrong, I liked the old layout, but I enjoy it more with the new chicane, it’s a lot less stressful for one, as a rider.
“It’s also a little bit more technical. And you get to touch at least the left-hand side of the tyre one more time, so that’s a positive.”
Keyword: MotoGP Austria: Jack Miller: Ducati dominance here ‘gone’, all bikes are missiles now - but tyre pressure 'crucial'