Miller, who won 4 GPs in the premier class, has signed a two-year agreement to join the official KTM team for 2023, after Ducati preferred Enea Bastianini for its factory team at the end of last season .
In his first year with the Austrian manufacturer, the Australian achieved just one podium on Sunday, finishing the World Championship in 11th place, but stressed that he and the team managed to overcome many difficulties together.
When Motorsport.com asked him after the final race in Valencia, in which he crashed when he was in the lead, if he believes that this year in KTM has made him a better rider than the one who left Ducati, he said: “I think yes, I feel like I’m getting better and better as a driver.”
“Yes, if you look at the results, on paper this year is probably the worst in quite some time. But we’ve had a lot of changes and a lot of difficulties this season. But we’ve also overcome a lot of them.”
“12 months ago, a lot of people said I would be unemployed today. So, I’m happy to have proven them wrong, and that the KTM is a very popular motorcycle and will continue to grow.”
“Rome wasn’t built in a day. We’ve had a challenging first year and it will be another challenging winter, but the guys know what areas need improvement and I also know where I need to improve as a driver.”
Photo by: KTM Images
Jack Miller, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
Miller explained that the feeling within KTM is that of a “smaller” company, despite its enormous size, and stressed that the “multicultural” atmosphere of the team made him feel less “alien” than the Ducati.
“At the end of the day, in many ways it’s similar,” he said when Motorsport.com asked him how different it was working with KTM compared to Ducati. “You’re an official driver, the responsibilities are yours. So in that sense, the stress is quite similar.”
“But working with all the guys at KTM, having a direct connection to the factory, it definitely has a more similar feel to a smaller company, if possible, in terms of contact with management, but at the same time it’s just as stressful.”
He added: “That’s definitely part of the problem. I think it’s a very international team, the way it’s structured with the people in the garage. I’m not saying the Italians were bad or anything like that, but you always feel like a a little foreign.”
“But with the two drivers being an Australian and a South African, it’s a very multicultural team and it definitely gives you that sense of feeling at home or at least feeling part of a team,” he concluded.
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