Jack Miller signed second place this Saturday at Le Mans during qualifying for the French Grand Prix. The Australian driver took the front row of the starting grid taking advantage of the boost given by his teammate, Pecco Bagnaia.
The Ducati rider had already shown an improvement in pace during Saturday’s free practice sessions, but not enough to be able to aspire to a front row position, a position that ended up in the hands of the other Italian factory rider.
“The truth is that I have been very close [to Pecco Bagnaia], the lap times are now crazy on this circuit, but I have to say that this good time is helping us all,” he explained to the press after concluding the session. .
“I’m very happy with today’s work, except for the crash in FP4,” said Miller. “If we talk about race pace, I have a good pace, but the important thing is to avoid crashes. I lost some confidence there, but I’m very happy for Pecco [Bagnaia], for me and for this double, first and second, which is very good for the team and it’s great to be back here.
Miller was aware that his Italian teammate had a higher pace than the rest and, showing team spirit, Bagnaia lent him a hand to ensure a good position for the two factory Ducatis.
“Pecco [Bagnaia] had a special pace in qualifying and today I was able to accept his help. I knew his pace was better than mine and he needed something more.”
The Ducati rider had no problem praising his teammate once again, explaining that it is “spectacular to see such a lap from behind”.
“Teamwork was what allowed us to achieve today’s result and we hope to do well tomorrow as well.”
The Australian also dedicated a few words to those who doubted the ability of the Ducati to return to the fight for the places of honor.
“It’s nice to hear again how much Ducati is taken into account after a start in which they asked us what the problems were and when we would fight for victories again. I had said that the 2022 Ducati would arrive and it is improving race by race” .
“We’ll see how the [Le Mans weather] race goes tomorrow, but we’ll definitely try to shine,” the Australian driver concluded.
