Source: Supplied.

Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Honda’s Jack Miller will be back on track at next week’s Phillip Island MotoGP World Championship test from 17-19 February.

Miller was forced to sit out the first MotoGP test of 2016 at Sepang after fracturing the tibia and fibula in his right leg in a training accident, but the 21-year-old Australian has been passed fit to ride at Phillip Island by doctors.

Miller completed an intensive rehabilitation program following the injury, which will see him back aboard the RC213V in preparation for his second full term in MotoGP during 2016.

“I’m itching to get back on the bike after such a long layoff and I don’t think we could have chosen a better track at which to return than Phillip Island given my condition,” Miller explained. “With only four right turns it means I’m not going to be working my injured right leg so hard, although it’s still going to be a tough test.

“I’ve been training hard here in Australia and working with my local physiotherapist to reduce the swelling in the leg, to give me more mobility on the bike, and it’s looking good. I’m looking forward to putting some laps in on the bike, getting a feel for the new electronics and seeing how the tyres have improved since Valencia.”

Tito Rabat:
“Malaysia was a positive test; it was good to be back out on the bike and working once again with the team, but now we go to Australia looking to increase the pace and reduce the gap to the fastest riders. To do this we need to continue working to get the best from the hard rear. My feeling was good with the soft tyre in Sepang, but the same wasn’t true of the harder option. I did a lot of laps and we saw some improvement over the three days in Malaysia, which means we head to Phillip Island with a good base from which to start working to improve further.”

Team principal Michael Bartholemy said it was positive to have Miller back alongside teammate Tito Rabat, the 2014 Moto2 World Champion who moves up to the premier class for the first time this season.

“Jack has been working hard to regain fitness after his injury and he was adamant that he was fit to test in Australia,” Bartholemy said. “The doctors who’ve managed his rehabilitation agreed with his assessment, so he will ride at Phillip Island.

“It will be a tough test with the injury but it will give Jack an opportunity to evaluate the control ECU and unified software for the first time and to assess how far Michelin have progressed with the development of the tyres, so it will be a worthwhile three days for him.”