The Australian has already accumulated seven podium finishes this season, the last one with Ducati before putting on the KTM suit from next season. The Townsville pilot is having a sweet moment. He came from sweeping Japan, where he took the most overwhelming victory of his time in MotoGP , and was going to his country, where he will get married this coming weekend.
Ask. Was the win at Motegi the easiest of your career?
Response. It wasn’t because of the mental stress I was under most of the time. The concentration you have to maintain is probably more demanding than any melee. Because you’re constantly fighting your brain, which is telling you that you’ve made a mistake here, or gone too far there. But putting that aside, that race was incredible, something I never thought I would be able to do because it just doesn’t come naturally to me.
Q. Was winning so clearly something you had been looking for for a long time?
A. Of course. I always looked at the type of victories of Casey Stoner , Jorge Lorenzo, Pecco Bagnaia, or even Valentino Rossi, who went through stages of great dominance. Riders who were and are capable of leading from the start and staying there all the time. I always had them in mind because they were my idols, and I imagined myself doing it. It is true that I won in Jerez (2021), but it was because Fabio Quartararo had compartment syndrome. Fabio was the fastest that Sunday.
P. In other words, the victory in Japan has no ‘but’.
A. Exactly. The first, in Assen (2016), in the rain, I played against Marc Márquez, who was more focused on the title than on winning there. Valentino fell, just like others. That victory had many ‘but’s. In Jerez, Fabio’s arm. And at Le Mans (2021) it rained, but it is also true that I had to do two long laps. In Japan there was no ‘but’. I don’t want to sound arrogant, but nobody wins four MotoGP races by chance. One, it can be. Four, no. It is true that there have been times when I have been lucky, but not this time.
P. If we take into account your current level, and that next weekend you get married, are you going through the best moment of your life?
R. Without a doubt, 100%. I feel complete, happy. I love my job, I’m surrounded by amazing people and I get to do what I’ve always dreamed of. Now, in addition, my best friend accompanies me. That feeling is brutal.
P. To what extent does the consistency that you exhibit on the track respond to the one that you also have off it?
R. I think it has a lot to do with it. Consistency is something I have worked hard on. Having a calm and stable life at home, not being alone all the time, in Andorra , but having someone to talk to beyond the dog, because it makes things easier. Bad days are less bad with someone by your side.
Q. How has Jack Miller changed in the last six or seven years?
A. Very much. I know the things I did in the past, and I think they are obvious from the outside. I am no longer that wild child from when I came here. And the change was for the better.
P. What would you say to that boy?
A. Do what you do. I wouldn’t trade my story for the world. I have learned many values, not only as a driver but also as a person. How to become the man I am, based on the mistakes and successes I have made. I think the world is missing a bit of that: people going out and making mistakes. Later, you realize and learn from it.
Q. What will you miss most about Ducati?
R. Many things, but surely not the number of events in which I have to participate (laughs). I will miss the technicians, the guys, the group of Gigi [Dall’Igna], the professionalism and the talent of the team. His only goal is to win this damn championship.
Q. What do you think of the way Ducati is playing its cards in this World Cup?
R. I have the feeling that everyone thinks about Italian factories. If you look at Formula 1, Ferrari takes sticks regardless of the decisions that are made. The same thing happens with Ducati. And that happens because the faces of the bosses are very visible, they are like characters and that makes them more vulnerable, it exposes them much more than the rest. Who will they criticize from Yamaha, Lin Jarvis ? Jarvis just works at Yamaha , so it’s different. Apart from that, the Ducati cards are there, but there are many variables.
P. But we are talking about eight bikes, a third of the grid, which can work in your favor.
R. But what if those pilots are not ahead? So none of the plans you can project make sense. In my opinion, what happened in Motegi, in the middle of the group, between Pecco and Enea Bastianini, should not have happened. It was stupid, it was an example of a pilot who was not thinking clearly at the time. I have been in that position before, with Andrea Dovizioso and also with Bagnaia. And I was very clear about my role. There is no glory in fighting for fourth or fifth place. But these guys are young and hungry.
Q. How did KTM convince you to go back there in 2023?
R. They did not have to convince me at all, but it came from me. When I saw that Ducati was asking me for time, I told Aki [Ajo , his agent] to talk to KTM. And they were immediately excited. In addition, everything coincided with the departure of Suzuki, which put a world champion [Joan Mir] and a rider who has won races [Alex Rins] on the market. But KTM decided that they wanted me. They did not care that unexpected alternatives arose. When I left KTM in 2014, I told them I would be back. They have always shown me a lot of respect, even when Ducati considered the possibility of taking Lorenzo back. That night in 2020, in Austria, I had a KTM contract on the table, but I felt that my work at Ducati had not finished, because my goal was to reach the official team.
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