News 23 Oct 2016

'Good old-fashioned scrap' results in Phillip Island top 10 for Miller

Australian hard-charger happy with solid finish at home round.

Source: Supplied.

Source: Supplied.

Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Honda’s Jack Miller battled his way to a hard-fought 10th position in today’s Michelin Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Phillip Island.

It was a significant result for Miller, who escaped contact with 2006 world champion Nicky Hayden in the closing laps, in the race won by fellow satellite Honda runner Cal Crutchlow.

Miller, 21, maintained his composure after a challenging week of action at Phillip Island, engaging in a frantic five-rider fight for seventh place that resulted in four of them crossing the finish within half a second.

“I think that’s what you call a heavy battle!” Miller recalled. “It was an intense race and I enjoyed it. It got a bit scary at times because you have no idea who is going to lunge up the inside from one corner to the next. Going into Doohan Corner at over 330km/h it was getting a bit crazy because it was a case of who dared brake the latest.

“It was a lot of fun and good to have a good old-fashioned scrap because it helped me learn a lot. The important thing was to finish with some decent points and I did that. I also think the home fans could see how determined I was to put on a good show for them and they definitely got good value for money from us.

“I felt I could have been in a better position after qualifying in fifth, but I got a bit messed up on the last lap. I took a risk to race the hard front Michelin tyre and I’d not done one flying lap with that option before the lights went out. But it was the rear tyre that was causing me a few issues because I had a few moments – I was losing the rear on entry and ran wide a few times, but I’m happy with a top 10.”

With an important finish to his credit on home soil, Miller will now direct his attention to Sepang in Malaysia for next weekend’s penultimate round of the 2016 championship. He’s currently 18th in the standings.

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