Image: Supplied.

The Valencia MotoGP test marked Jack Miller’s highly-anticipated debut with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing in the premier class, and the Australian  ‘adapted easier’ than expected to the RC 16.

After five seasons spent with Ducati in MotoGP, Miller switched to the Austrian manufacturer on a two-year deal through the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

On Tuesday at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit, the number 43 completed 70 laps as he transitioned to the KTM and ran through various programs. Miller ended the day 17th fastest, 0.755s from the top of the timesheets but was unable to do a proper time attack.

“It was a lot of fun,” Miller recalled. “The weather was fantastic for testing today, wind picked up a little bit but nonetheless we were able to get out on track relatively early and ride right til the end of the session. I did a lot of laps, had a lot of fun shaking down the new bike and understanding the new team. It was a good day.

“To be honest I adapted easier than I expected. After being on another bike for such a considerable amount of time, I felt pretty comfortable off the get-go and was just playing around with it for the rest of the day.

“Relatively comfy by the end of the day, was pretty happy with how we finished up. Unfortunately no real-time attack, I did the best time on a medium and the soft at the end of the day didn’t quite… well we had to drop a medium, and then had to use a soft to try out a few different things. I would loved to have really thrown some laps at it in anger, but nonetheless pretty happy with the result.”

Teammate Brad Binder concluded the test in seventh, the South African riding on the chassis used across the Valencia GP weekend while trialling a new tail unit and exhausts.