Image: Supplied.

Rear grip issues saw Australia’s Jack Miller shuffled down the field in the 2023 Austrian GP, the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider able to salvage a point after running inside the top three in the early stages.

Miller completed practice on Friday at Red Bull Ring in P14, but made a step in qualifying to line-up fourth on the grid, just 0.230s from pole-setter Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team).

The number 43 finished P5 in Saturday’s sprint, and then held third throughout the first three laps of the Austrian GP before Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing) took over P3.

From there, Miller – who was listed as running a hard front, medium rear tyre option – was shuffled back through the field as the race progressed, ultimately crossing the line in P15 to collect one point after fighting the rear grip issues.

“I started the race good and tried not to kill the tyre in the first laps,” Miller recalled. “I wanted to build up the temperature as smooth as possible.

“It wasn’t to be. I noticed that I didn’t have the drive grip that I needed, so then I was just trying to manage the best I could with riding style and everything like that. I think the biggest thing for us is taking a step back, going back to our old setting and maybe finding a little bit of a different direction to work for myself.”

Following the first 10 rounds of the 2023 MotoGP World Championship, Miller is eighth in the title race as the series moves to Catalunya, Spain on 1-3 September.