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The leading riders of some of Ducati’s MotoGP rivals need to zip it and “get on with the job” instead of complaining about their equipment, according to KTM’s Jack Miller.
Miller’s sixth-place finish in the German Grand Prix left him as the only rider not on a Ducati in the top nine. Team-mate Brad Binder had been in contention for a podium before he crashed, but none of Yamaha, Honda or Aprilia looked particularly in position to fight the Desmosedicis.
Miller, himself formerly of Ducati, described himself as being “in a ginormous Ducati sandwich” and “the rose between the thorns” and said it was “bloody good” to be alone in taking on the Desmosedicis this early into his KTM tenure.
Asked about Ducati’s dominance, he said: “I mean, they’re good at the moment, there’s no doubting that.
“But they weren’t always good. We’ll get them.”
The next point he made, however, was more confrontational.
While Aprilia has been something of a Ducati challenger earlier this season, and even in its recent slump Aleix Espargaro, who currently appears to be getting the most out of RS-GP, has repeatedly maintained that the bike is good, the same hasn’t necessarily been the case for Honda and Yamaha.
Both of their world champion lead riders, Marc Marquez and Fabio Quartararo respectively, have been openly critical about the competitiveness of their equipment and the development rate, albeit with Marquez on the balance of things more diplomatic than Quartararo.
“We’re the only ones not complaining about our motorcycles and we’re actually trying to do something about it to fix it,” said Miller when asked about KTM’s standing as Ducati’s sole challenger.
“Everyone else, all they do is throw their toys out of the cot and say that ‘my bike’s s**t’. It’s as simple as that.”
He then conceded certain bikes were indeed underperforming right now, yet added: “But why are they s**t? Because it’s their own doing. They kicked out 99% of the engineers to get his engineers! His guys in there.
“And now they’re f**ked, and he can’t even make it past a lap! It’s their own doing.
“Everybody wants to complain about their own bikes, nobody wants to do anything about it. Shut the f**k up and get on with the job, you’re paid to ride a motorcycle, not to be a f**king princess and complain about your bike.”
Though he didn’t name a specific name or bike, Miller’s very specific criticism can be read as being aimed at none other than Marquez.
Marquez was the one rider who didn’t “make it past a lap” in the German GP – he didn’t start it after a warm-up crash, his fifth of the weekend.
And his side of the garage has made a number of major personnel decisions in recent years, particularly around its engineering line-up.
