Image: Supplied.

A ‘strange’ grip issue in Sunday’s race at the left Jack Miller with his hands tied at the Grand Prix of the Americas, yet to discover what affected him from the mid-stages at COTA.

Miller took the chequered flag 13th at Circuit of the Americas (COTA), but was puzzled post-race after the problem surfaced as soon as lap seven of the 20-lap duration.

The Queenslander was rapid away from the line and completed the opening lap in P3, and then maintained a position inside the top-five until lap seven, when he continued to slip down the order. It was a frustrating outcome after he had raced to seventh in the sprint a day prior.

“I felt good in the group for the first six laps and very comfortable,” Miller explained. “The bike was working better than yesterday, but then from lap seven I ran into some grip issues immediately and it just got worse – I couldn’t carry corner speed.

“It was a bit confusing after we’d done 10 laps and pushed so hard in the sprint. I’d been managing the tyre and building it up, so it’s very strange. I just tried to ride as defensively as I could for the rest of the race. We’ll have a look at the data… I felt I could have done a good job here.”

Miller is currently ranked 10th in the rider’s championship standings, his best finish of fifth to date coming at Portimao’s second round of the 2024 MotoGP season.