Image: Supplied.

Jack Miller was forced to make an early retirement from Qatar’s opening round of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship after experiencing a seat malfunction in the beginning stages.

The Pramac Racing ace, who qualified in P4, started the 22-lap encounter strongly immediately moving into second, however his seat foam malfunctioned, prompting the Australian to ditch the unit.

Pushing on, albeit towards the rear of the field, Miller called time on the race approximatively half way through the encounter after struggling to control his Ducati Desmosedici GP19.

“It’s a real shame because we went very fast through the whole weekend and I was convinced that I could stay with the leading group until the end,” Miller explained.

“Unfortunately, after the problem with the seat, I couldn’t control the bike in the corners and it was impossible to keep on. All things considered, the feeling is still positive and I can’t wait to be in Argentina.”

Miller, along with Mission Winnow Ducati Team riders Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci, are the subject of a protest that’s been referred to the MotoGP Court of Appeals, with a number of teams coming forward with concerns over the Desmosedici GP19’s aerodynamic device on the rear swing arm.