Who expected Jack Miller in bright orange to ride well under the lap record, faster than anyone in the dry at Portimao, on the very first Friday of the 2023 season? It was his first race meeting with the Austrian manufacturer and the whole MotoGP paddock literally stared in amazement.
And while his on-paper results at the Circuit of the Americas was far from amazing with six crashes, the final of which left him in the gravel trap in Sunday’s 20-lap grand prix, he honestly believed he was in for a shout at the victory. And for good reason.
It has been clear for some time that the Italian manufacturers, Ducati and Aprilia, have built machines that all of their riders can be competitive on. And in my opinion, this is the best way to judge the current level of any manufacturer in MotoGP, rather than simply taking the results of their best performing rider who is usually someone special enough to make an uncompetitive machine look good. It was clear last season that Yamaha, Honda
