Jack Miller followed Marc Marquez round the Qatar track during pre-season testing in 2018. Miller was riding for Ducati at the time, while Marquez was the reigning world champion at Honda.
When a baffled Miller returned to the garage, he reported that Marquez had been losing the front ‘on purpose’, deliberately applying full lock.
Mat Oxley shares this anecdote in his biography of Marquez, an excerpt of which has been made available on Motor Sport Magazine’s website.
Marquez and Miller are now the most experienced duo on the MotoGP grid after the Australian overtook the injured Maverick Vinales. Between them, they have started 404 Grands Prix.
Jack Miller couldn’t believe Marc Marquez’s ‘crazy’ technique to find the limit
According to Michelin’s Piero Taramasso, Marquez was using the ‘crazy’ method in order to find the limit of the front tyre. The Spaniard explained as much to Miller when he visited the Honda garage.
He was the only rider who used the harder rubber on a colder Lusail circuit under the lights.
Marquez has built a reputation as a rider who takes more risks than his rivals, but it’s clear that he’s not just operating on instinct. He experiments to build a bank of knowledge.
Taramasso told Oxley: “During 2018 pre-season testing in Qatar, he went out in the night with a hard front, because he needed the harder tyre to support his riding style. No one else would go out with the hard front in the nighttime, when track temperature is lower, but he told us, ‘I want to try it.’
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“So he went out and soon after that Jack came back into his box. He told us that Marc had been in front of him and losing the front on purpose, trying to look for the limit. He said it was crazy because Marc was going to full lock.
“After the session, Jack went into Marc’s garage and said, ‘What were you doing in turn six? You were leaning 20 degrees in the corner and turning the handlebars onto full lock!’
“Marc said, ‘Oh, I was looking for the limit, because I want to know where the limit is and I want to feel the reaction.’ No one else can do that.”
What has Jack Miller said about Marc Marquez’s 2025 comeback?
Speaking in March, while the season was still young, Miller said Marquez looked like a ‘racehorse’ after honing his physique. He may be the second-oldest rider on the grid, but that was a sign that he was ‘ready to go’.
The Ducati rider went on to win 25 races from a possible 36 before sustaining a season-ending shoulder injury. Marquez should return in January for an additional test.
In September, Miller said Marquez proved he was a true ‘racer’ by battling back from his arm surgeries. He doesn’t think he was motivated by ‘success or money’.
Miller rode satellite Honda machinery for his first three years in the premier class, no doubt giving him an even greater appreciation of Marquez’s achievements on the RC213V.
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