Ducati Lenovo’s Jack Miller completed Jerez MotoGP qualifying fourth after a 1’37.049 lap on Saturday afternoon.

Having spent the majority of the weekend on the edge of the top ten, and running 20th in FP4, a positive step saw Miller just off the front row for the third time this season. Despite the frustration, the Australian was pleased with the progression and confident of his Sunday prospects.

“Not bad,” Miller said of his qualifying performance. “Satisfied, I guess you could say. Found a little bit in the Q2.

“Did a 16-lap run in FP4, it was okay, pace was there or thereabouts. We made a change for Q2 and I think we found something in the bike that was sort of the issue in the long run in FP4 so I think, if we can drop three/four tenths off our race pace - because it was really consistent, just a little bit slow - if we can drop three/four tenths off that, then we’re right in this thing.

“I’m generally able to turn it on a little bit more when it comes to race time, but I feel good. Felt good in the 16 lap run. Done a lot of laps around here so it feels nice to do that before a race.

“P4, positive starting position for tomorrow,” he confirmed. “I find myself saying that more and more but especially in this day and age in MotoGP, if you can be on those front two rows - front row, preferably - but if you can be on those front two, it’s definitely a bonus come Sunday.

“Their pace is good,” he said of Ducati teammate and pole sitter Pecco Bagnaia and Fabio Quartararo “They both did a decent run this morning in FP3. They had a quite used tyre in, both, and they were able to go fast. A little bit different this avo, they was sort of in and out, fast laps, slow laps, so it’s kind of hard to see what they had for race time but nonetheless, like I said, I know what we need to do.

‘Three/four tenths and I think we should have the similar pace to those guys. Maybe not on their level but you know, with them in front and that little carrot, I think we should be able to try and hang the fangs into them, for as long as possible anyway, but I definitely feel like I can run with those guys.”