Australia's MotoGP rider Jack Miller will kick off the second half of the 2017 season by starting 15th on the grid for Sunday's Czech Republic Grand Prix.
In baking hot conditions Miller found himself caught up in a fiercely competitive Q1 session and missed progressing to Q2 by a mere tenth of a second.
Miller's qualifying time of 1'56.543 was three tenths faster than his best in the morning FP3 session.
The Australian rider is primed for a strong showing in the 22-lap race as he continues his transition back to MotoGP after racing a Honda superbike in the Suzuka Eight-Hours.
“The fifth row of the grid is not ideal but I've started further back and had a strong race so I'm up for the challenge. Just one tenth of a second would have got me into Q2 but that's racing,” he said. “My race pace is pretty good and I am just working to get my rhythm back on the MotoGP bike after racing the superbike. It's good to be back in MotoGP and race day is what counts so I'm looking forward to it.”
The switch back to Michelin tyres and the Honda RC213V MotoGP bike has seen Miller struggle with front-end feel through the fast curves of the stadium section of the 5.4 km Brno Circuit.
Jack actually missed this race through injury last year and lost crucial dry track set-up time with the wet conditions of Friday morning's FP1 session.
Track temperatures soared to 48 degrees during Saturday's sun soaked qualifying session.
