P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Jack Miller secures direct Q2 access for the first time this year, while team-mate Toprak Razgatlioglu struggled with Catalunya’s “incredible” lack of grip.
Fresh from Fabio Quartararo giving Yamaha’s new V4 its strongest MotoGP weekend yet at Le Mans, two Yamaha riders secured direct Qualifying 2 places in Catalunya on Friday. This time it wasn’t Quartararo leading the way, but Pramac’s Jack Miller, who lapped just 0.2s from the top for ninth place on the timesheets. “When you say two tenths and ninth, it doesn’t even sound real!” smiled Miller, speaking to MotoGP.com after the session. “I felt good from the get-go here in Barcelona. It’s one of the tracks we’ve been to that I’ve ridden the V4 at before, so we kind of had a rough idea. Obviously, it’s quite a different bike now from what we rode last year. But in general, happy with the day, happy with the pace. Then for the single lap attack, I was able to put Bez in front of me and really get the hammer down. However, the V4’s lack of engine performance remains a hindrance on the main straight. “Obviously, we’re still missing some straight-line speed. I think we’re about 11,-12 k an hour down in the speed trap, but thankfully here you’re only really using the power on the main straight,” Miller said. “The rest of the track, because there’s no grip, you’re just trying to find traction. Together with the boys, from the get-go today we’ve kind of been able to find that window and keep the bike in that window. Really nice to be heading into a Saturday, not going into Q1. It helps the weekend out a lot if you can be in Q2 and start just those couple extra positions in front.”
