Miller hails “unreal” first half of KTM’s 2023 MotoGP season

The Australian moved to KTM for the 2023 season having been with Ducati since 2018 and scored his first podium with the Austrian manufacturer with a third at the Spanish GP.

Though he has yet to repeat this, Miller and KTM have been a regular fixture in the podium battle at all rounds this season.

Reflecting on the first half of the 2023 campaign, Miller said: “First half of the year has been unreal.

“We’ve had a bike fighting there every weekend, whether it was myself or Brad [Binder] or even Augusto [Fernandez].

“So, we can be very happy with what the bike’s doing. We’ll come back to Silverstone in full force, recharged and ready for the back end of the season.”

Team-mate Binder has two sprint wins to his credit in 2023 and a grand prix podium at the Spanish GP, where he finished second to Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia.

The South African could have added to that tally twice at the Dutch Grand Prix in June, but in both the sprint and the main race he was demoted from third for exceeding track limits on the last lap.

Brad Binder, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Despite this, Binder sits fourth in the standings, albeit 80 points behind championship leader Bagnaia.

He echoed Miller’s comments about the competitiveness of the KTM in 2023 so far and feels a front-end set-up tweak made during the Assen weekend will prove to be a “game-changer” in the second half of the campaign.

“Well, I think we’ve been fast in every single GP,” he said.

“If not me, then Jack. If you look at the bigger picture, we’ve had a podium at most tracks, whether that be from me or from Jack.

“So, I think going forward to the second half of the year, it gives us confidence.

“The best bike I feel I’ve had all season has been the one I had this weekend. For sure, we have some small things I need to fix a little bit.

“I’ve been struggling with front locking and stopping, and that’s one thing that was a gamechanger [as] the guys found something that helped me.

“So, that at other tracks will make much more of a difference and I’m excited to see what the next part of the season holds for us.”