Jack Miller's hopes of being top-Ducati in the Thailand MotoGP ended before the red lights even went out.

The Pramac Ducati rider accidentally pressed the kill switch as he tried to activate launch control while rolling up to his sixth-place grid slot.

"I was in a bit of a hurry, just trying to do everything a little bit too quickly, let's say, turning the launch on, and I pressed the wrong button," said Miller, who also has the Ducati holeshot device to activate.

"It was the kill switch, so I turned the bike off. As soon as I pressed it, I was going 'F**k no!'. But it is what it is.

"I won't be having that trouble on the grid again, that's for sure. It's just one of those things. With the adrenaline going and everything, I just pressed the wrong button."

The Australian immediately leapt from his bike and pushed it into pit lane, where it had to be restarted before joining the race 22nd and last.

"I was pissed, don't get me wrong. I was disappointed in myself, but I just got over it straight away and tried to do everything correctly. Had the pit limiter on, everything like that and got back out of there as quick as possible and set to work on trying to catch back the boys."

The start incident cost Miller around 14-seconds, but he caught the tail of the field within six laps and worked his way through to 14th place by the chequered flag.

"It was quite easy to slip off or make a mistake out there, so I was just trying to be as calm as I could. For example with Iannone at the end, I sat behind him for a lap until I had the time and position to go round him.

"I didn't make any real mistakes, I had one moment at the front where I went wide at the turn and went onto the green on the outside, but apart from that, I had a pretty solid day.

"Fitness felt really good, I was able to push on the limit from start to finish. It is what it is, it was hot, humid, sticky out there. But only one rider crashed out, and we were still able to get 14th, so it's not too bad."

Nonetheless, Miller feels he would have been in contention for top Ducati honours without the error at the start, which instead went to Andrea Dovizioso in fourth.

"Definitely. I think if I look at our pace… the whole race I was going alone, no slipstreams on the first lap so I instantly had to go down to the, let's say, fuel economy map because I was pushing the thing the whole way and there was not a slipstream to be seen.

"So I was riding on eco mode the whole way through and trying to make it work. But it is what it is. I've had a solid weekend in general, it's just a shame that I made that small mistake on the grid."

Finally Miller was asked for his thoughts on Marc Marquez clinching his eighth world title.

"Marc's been superb all year. He bona fide deserves it, so happy to see him wrap it up, but we're going to have to do our homework in these next four grand prix and through winter testing to try to get closer to him for next year. All of us."

Miller has now dropped 24-points behind Buriram runner-up Fabio Quartararo in the battle to be top satellite rider in the world championship standings.



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