Early season pressure an "opportunity" for Miller - Guidotti

Before the 2024 season properly got back up and running with the first two team launches of the season, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager, Francesco Guidotti, spoke to motogp.com about the upcoming season for the orange squad.

While Brad Binder has been a mainstay in the famous KTM colours since his Moto3™ days, the Austrian factory welcomed an old friend back to their ranks in 2023 – Jack Miller. It was never going to be easy switching from Ducati to KTM for the Australian, but the start of the season unearthed some impressive results – most notably a double podium finish at the Spanish GP.

- BINDER "LEARNED ABOUT RIDERS' BEHAVIOUR IN THE LEAD GROUP" IN 2023 - GUIDOTTI

Five top seven results came in the first seven races of 2023 before a trickier period followed in the middle part of the year. Miller recovered some form towards the tail end of 2023 to secure five top 10s in the closing seven races, with one of the two Sunday DNFs he suffered coming when he crashed out of the lead in Valencia.

“I’m really happy about the riders, I know both of them are happy to be here with us and this is the key point," said Guidotti. "It’s so important the riders feel comfortable in the team, with the bike and with the environment around them. Jack is changing his training activity a bit, so maybe this can be really helpful for getting better results and being more consistent during the season."

Like every rider on the grid who doesn’t have a contract in place for 2025, the first few races of 2024 will be crucial. A fascinating MotoGP™ silly season is already underway and unlike teammate Binder, Miller is part of the majority that will be looking to secure his future on the premier class grid. 

“It’s a kind of pressure that comes to everyone a little bit too soon. We have to make decisions in the first part of the season and sometimes this is not the best for the riders and also for us that we have to make a decision after a few races,” commented Guidotti on the topic of riders having pressure to perform immediately.

“It’s something that everyone would like to change but we can’t because there are a lot of factors that we have to consider for the choice, not least we have to be ready right after the first race of the season to start the new season, so we have to be ready soon.

“It’s not like years ago when we had a proper winter break, where we could deal with everything and be ready in February to go out again with the new bikes and new riders. Everything happens very soon at the end of the season, so the decisions need to be made soon during the current season. This is a sort of pressure that, as I said, no one likes. But everyone who works in this environment, in this world, needs to get used to this daily pressure. It’s part of our jobs.

“Jack, like almost all of the grid, is on the market. Also for him it can be an opportunity. It depends how the rider feels this pressure. I don’t think he wants to look around, he’s fully committed to staying with us, he likes being here so much, so I’d like to think that he feels the pressure to show everybody, to show himself, the potential.”

There’s no doubt the pressure Guidotti mentions will be mounted on Miller and most of his rivals right from the word go in Qatar. However, this won’t be a new kind of pressure for the 29-year-old. Miller will be aware that results are vital, and if KTM can find those small improvements they’re hunting for, there’s no reason why Miller won’t be fighting for podiums in the opening races of the season. That will certainly be the aim for both rider and team.