Alma Pramac Racing charger not ruling out his chances for Phillip Island.
Words: Russell Colvin
Victory in the Michelin Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix would be ‘a dream come true’ for an optimistic Jack Miller, entering this weekend’s Phillip Island round and not discounting his chances.
Miller, who is currently 13th in the standings after crashing out in Japan on Sunday, has a total of 62 race starts in the premier category including his breakout victory at Assen in 2016.
Speaking this afternoon from the Rod Laver Arena precinct at the home of the Australian Open, meeting with tennis ace Lleyton Hewitt and star coach Francois Vogelsberger, 23-year-old Miller has high hopes of a strong showing with Alma Pramac Racing at home. And he has previously stood on the top step of the Phillip Island podium, winning the Moto3 race in 2014.
“It would be a dream come true to win my home grand prix in the MotoGP class,” expressed Miller. “In terms of can we afford to think that way? For sure. If we didn’t go out there and think we had a chance of winning, we wouldn’t go out on track. I think we have a good chance this weekend, especially at Phillip Island.
“The nature of this circuit brings the machinery down on an equal level. It’s also nice to know now that both Marc [Marquez] and Andrea [Dovizioso] are not fighting for the championship anymore, so I can now take a few more risks around them and have a dig on them as well. We’ll go there with the right expectation, put the work in over the free practices and qualifying, then see what it brings us at the end.”
After last year’s race at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, which saw Miller qualify in fifth place and then lead the opening four laps of 27, the Townsville talent will enter his home grand prix with form on his side since qualifying on the front row at Motegi last weekend. While Miller’s race did not pan out the way he would have hoped for in Japan, he understands that’s the way it is in racing.
“It can be all roses one day and then you’re back in the gravel the next day,” he added. “We just had to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off. I made a decision and it wasn’t quite the right one, I don’t think. It cost us that race, but I feel that we have gained from it and we’ll take that experience and the knowledge we got from the Japanese grand prix and bring it here to the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix this weekend.”
Looking back on the season, it has been a solid year for Miller in scoring two fourth-place finishes at Termas de Rio Hondo and Le Mans, plus not to forget his maiden pole position which came in Argentina during April.
“I feel that it has been a good season,” he recalled, despite enduring a series of ups and downs across the opening 16 rounds. “In saying that, we have also had a few dramas with a couple of crashes, which has not been ideal. However, I have had worse seasons, that’s for sure.”