It was a fast start for Australia’s Jack Miller in the Italian GP but the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider was admittedly ‘missing a bit of pace at the beginning’ of Sunday’s encounter.

Despite having to go through Q1, Miller delivered a solid qualifying performance to line up fifth on the grid for the races at Mugello.

He completed the sprint race in P6, just shy of Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing) in fifth before launching to the early lead in Sunday’s grand prix. Race-winner Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) rider quickly relegated Miller from P1, and the number 43 was visibly struggling to match the pace of his rivals in the early stages as he dropped to seventh by lap five.

P7 was where Miller would ultimately finish the 22-lap outing, less than a tenth behind Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro as he banked another nine points towards his 2023 tally.

“Somewhat satisfied but wanting more,” Miller said. “The bike was working well all weekend, we had another decent start today but we were just missing a bit of pace at the beginning compared to the other boys.

“Around mid-race the gap stabilized and I felt like I was getting more and more comfortable. Seventh and ten seconds away from the win meant decent points. Looking forward to Sachsenring already.”

The MotoGP World Championship continues this weekend with round seven of the 2023 season at the Sachsenring, Germany. Miller enters the German GP seventh in the championship standings.