Image: Supplied.

Despite being the leading RC16 rider through the entirety of Sunday’s Malaysian MotoGP at Sepang, Australia’s Jack Miller admits outright pace was lacking on his way to a P8 finish.

The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider completed Friday a solid third fastest in practice, but was unable to improve his fastest lap in qualifying two which meant he was 10th on the grid with a 1m58.468s.

Miller raced to a P6 finish in Saturday’s sprint race, and fired inside the top six for the opening half of Sunday’s Malaysian GP. He ultimately was regulated back by Monster Energy Yamaha pair Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli, but overall the weekend was an uplift from last time out in Thailand.

“Long old race,” Miller recalled. “I didn’t quite have enough for those boys ahead and we’re scratching our heads a little bit because that time gap to the front is not ideal in a 20-lap race. I didn’t have any real issues or mistakes that cost me any time; it was just outright pace.

“So, we’re missing a little bit. I was hanging with [Marco] Bezzecchi for a while but cooked the front tyre. We have some work to do and I will try to get better myself as well to see what we can maximize for Qatar and Valencia.”

Two rounds remain in the 2023 MotoGP World Championship, with the penultimate stop of this year’s series taking place this weekend at Lusail, Qatar.