Features 17 Apr 2014

Race Recap: Jack Miller

Moto3 World Championship leader on Texas domination and title hopes.

A second victory for Australia’s Jack Miller has him the early leader of the 2014 Moto3 World Championship.

The Red Bull KTM-mounted rider shone again at the Circuit of the Americas last weekend, leading from start to finish.

CycleOnline.com.au caught up with Jack to chat about the stellar start to his season and review a terrific showing in Texas.

Source: Ajo Motorsport

Source: Ajo Motorsport

Congratulations on win number two for the season. Has it sunk in yet that you are now a two-time grand prix winner?

It’s a little bit unbelievable, almost. It’s what I’d planned and hoped, and to do it is just really nice. The way we were able to do it in Texas the other day was also nice, to lead every lap start to finish is good. It’s a good feeling. It’s where I wanted to be for the championship. Now we have to try to keep this ball rolling, and keep consistent.

With the form you showed in 2013 on an underpowered Honda, I think it was probably a foregone conclusion that’d you’d be a regular challenger for race wins. Did you think you’d be ticking them off this early?

I’d hoped to be, but I definitely didn’t think I’d get the first two wins. Definitely not.

Qatar was a breakthrough weekend for you but in Texas you really dominated. Describe the achievement of taking both the pole position and race win?

It’s great you know. Qatar isn’t really a track that suits my style, it’s a really smooth and flowing sort of track, but Texas is a little bit more my style. I’m really happy to come away with those results. I couldn’t ask for more.

My fitness level was high enough so I could hold a good level the whole way through the race. I could push and set good lap times, and I had no one to follow so it wasn’t the easiest.

Most Moto3 races go right to the wire and this was no different. Tell us about the final few laps and the plan formulating in your head in order to hold onto the lead.

I knew I could go really deep under braking. Efren [Vazquez] had tried a few times but I’d been able to put a move back on him. I had no doubt in my mind that I’d be able to make that pass and hold on for the last few sectors, so I wasn’t too stressed, to be honest.

I had my plan – if I was in second, I knew I could make a pass at turn 12 and hold on. It was very close though, this is how the races will always be.

Source: Ajo Motorsport

Source: Ajo Motorsport

What’s it like being the rider who is chased, not the one doing the chasing?

It’s nice, to have enough power so I can go and do my own thing through qualifying. It’s also good that you don’t have to work for a slipstream. Sure you do, but I can go and do stuff and the extra power is cool. Being out front is different, because you don’t always have a clear picture of what’s behind.

You’ve already got a handy advantage in the points race. How often does the thought of winning the championship cross your mind?

It’s early days now, but that’s the long term goal. That’s why we’re here. We’ve just got to take it race by race at the moment. We’ve still got a lot more to go, I think about 16 left. We’ll see what happens as the races go by. We’ll look at it mid-season. But the championship is always the goal. We didn’t come all the way over here to run for second.

From following you on social media we can see you got to spend a bit of time with Chad Reed while you were in the US. What was that like to have him there at the race and did he have any advice for you?

Chad’s a really good bloke; an inspiration. He looked after us the weekend before down at the Supercross, then came down and had a good time at the races on the weekend. But in terms of advice, no more than just good luck, really. We both stick to what we know I guess. But he’s a good guy, it was good to have him there.

Australia has lots of talented racers on the international stage, but you’re really in the spotlight at the moment. How do you feel about becoming a new household name for the sport?

It’s definitely good to hear the national anthem two times in a row. It’s nice. There are a lot of Aussies out there doing well. And it’s still early days. We’ve had some good results but yeah, it’s a long season isn’t it!?

And finally, how do you approach a track like Argentina. Do you know much about it and how do you feel you’ll fare?

To be honest I haven’t even seen the track map, maybe I’ll Google Maps it. We’re all in the same boat though. But it’s good for me, when I came from Australia to Europe I had to learn tracks quickly. I’m happy on the bike so that will let me focus on the job and hopefully get up to speed quick.

Thanks for taking the time to speak with us, and best of luck for the next round.

Thank you, and we’ll keep in touch, definitely.

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