Miller relieved to score points after “disaster” qualifying

The Marc VDS rider struggled badly on Saturday at the Losail circuit on his way to qualifying down in 18th place of a 20-rider field, having suffered a crash during the preceding FP4 session.

But the 21-year-old had a much better time in the race, running as high as 12th before slipping behind Eugene Laverty and Alvaro Bautista and banking two points for finishing 14th.

Speaking to Motorsport.com, Miller said he was content with his Honda’s performance over a race distance, despite Qatar being a venue ill-suited to the RC213V in his opinion.

“We didn’t really have too many expectations,” he said. “Qualifying was a big disaster for us and we just wanted to wipe it.

“We had been struggling quite a bit, so I’m pretty happy with what we did [in the race], and on a track I don’t particularly like and where the Honda doesn’t seem to work that great.

“The Michelins seemed to last pretty well, although it was slippery so I didn’t want to push the front too much – especially as I saw a heap of riders go down.

“The rear tyre held up pretty well, although a couple of laps from the end I started to lose it a little bit more on entry.

“It was the first time I’d done any sort of long runs this year, so to be in this position at this point in time, we can be pretty happy.”

Asked what the main weaknesses to address in time for Argentina were, Miller added: “We’ve got more to do with the front-end feeling, we need to learn how to get that a little bit more correct.

“But other than that, just doing the laps today made me find some positives in the bike.

“I look forward to taking what we learnt here and seeing what we can do in Argentina – a track I like and the Honda works better at.”