History is on Jack Miller’s side as he heads to Argentina with the Moto3 championship lead
IT may be 15 years since MotoGP last raced in Argentina, but Australia’s history there bodes well for Moto3 leader Jack Miller.
HISTORY could be on Jack Miller’s side as he heads to this weekend’s Moto3 round in Argentina with the championship lead.
The MotoGP circus has visited South American country just 11 times in the past, but has never before raced at the brand new Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo.
The last time Miller and his Moto3 rivals raced on a new track was at the Circuit of the Americas last year, where the Australian qualified and raced his underpowered Honda near the front of the field. This year, armed with a new KTM, Miller took a commanding victory.
Watch all the practice, qualifying and race action from the Argentina MotoGP LIVE in HD this weekend on SPEED (Foxtel channel 512)! Scroll down for broadcast times.
No longer the underdog, he arrives in Argentina with a target on his back as the man to beat.
The win in Austin was his second straight to start the year, leaving Miller with an 18-point margin at the top of the standings.
“We have undoubtedly started the season well and it would be impossible to have done better, but we can’t settle for this,” Miller said.
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“I didn’t think I’d win the opening two races, although I felt good in preseason. The KTM is working very well and I feel better every day, so I’m happy.”
The new circuit is a step into the unknown for Miller and the rest of the Moto3 field, with no prior data or testing at the circuit leaving teams to start with a blank sheet of paper.
“I have only seen the track on the internet, but it doesn’t mean much because I’ve only got a first impression.
“It will be important to put in laps by foot or on the scooter to analyse it in situ, so that on Friday we can put in as many laps as possible. I can’t wait to get back on the bike.”
Miller’s winning 2014 form aside, the history books provide a couple of omens that suggest the South American visit could be very prosperous.
Mick Doohan sealed the second of his five-straight 500cc titles in Argentina in 1995, leading Daryl Beattie across the line for an Australian one-two in both the race and the championship.
Doohan had already won there in 1994 and would win again in 1998, while Wayne Gardner celebrated his recently-clinched world championship with a podium finish in the chaotic 1987 running of the race.
But it’s a little-remembered result even further back into the pages of history that could be a pointer for Miller’s race and title hopes.
While the names Gardner, Doohan and Casey Stoner are among the most revered at Honda, it was another Australian, a 27-year-old Sydneysider named Tom Phillis, who earnt the Japanese motorcycle masters their first two-wheel world title.
Phillis clinched the 1961 125cc world championship — the forerunner to the Moto3 class Miller now leads — with a win in that year’s Argentinian Grand Prix.
A victory this weekend would put Miller in good stead to become the first Australian to emulate Phillis’s feat in winning the sport’s lightweight championship.
BROADCAST TIMES (All times LIVE AEST)
MotoGP
FRI 10:45pm — Free Practice 1
SAT 02:55am — Free Practice 2
SAT 10:45pm — Free Practice 3
SUN 02:20am — Qualifying (Rpy 2:00pm)
SUN 10:35pm — Warm Up
MON 02:30am — Race (Rpy 8:30pm)
Moto2
SAT 04:00am — Free Practice 2
SUN 04:00am — Qualifying (Rpy 3:00pm)
MON 01:05am — Race (Rpy 7:30pm)
Moto3
SAT 02:05am — Free Practice 2
SUN 01:30am — Qualifying (Rpy 1:00pm)
SUN 11:45pm — Race (Rpy 6:30pm)