Jack Miller cleared of dangerous riding in Malaysian Moto3 after protest from Alex Marquez’s team

RACE officials have rejected a protest against Jack Miller’s riding in the Malaysian Moto3, lodged by title rival Alex Marquez’s team.

17 GP Malasia 22, 23, 24, 25 y 26 de octubre de 2014. Moto3, M3, m3

MOTOGP race officials have rejected a protest against Jack Miller’s riding in the Malaysian Moto3 Grand Prix, lodged by title rival Alex Marquez’s team.

The pair made contact on a couple of occasions during Sunday’s race as the Australian rider tried to keep his world championship hopes alive.

Miller crossed the line in second place while Marquez finished an angry and frustrated fifth, cutting his points deficit to just 11 with just the season finale at Valencia remaining.

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Immediately after the race, Marquez’s Estrella Galicia 0,0 squad launched a protest against both Miller and his Ajo teammate Danny Kent.

The Estrella Galicia squad complained that Miller had shown unsportsmanlike behaviour, accusing him of deliberately making contact with Marquez. They also suggested Kent, who finished fourth, had deliberately held Marquez up on the final lap to prevent him from rejoining the lead group.

Watch Jack Miller race for the world championship in the Moto3 season finale, LIVE and ad-free in full HD on November 9 on Fox Sports 5 (Foxtel channel 506).

After looking at all the instances raised in the protest, including looking at Kent’s data traces from the final lap, MotoGP Race Direction cleared both Miller and Kent of all charges.

“We looked at six passing manoeuvres, four of which did not warrant further investigation. They were completely normal passing manoeuvres,” MotoGP Race Director Mike Webb told Crash.net.

“In the other two passes there was light contact — and they were definitely hard and close passing manoeuverers — but our unanimous decision as Race Direction was that no rules were broken.

Miller leading Marquez and Alex Rins.

“Taken in isolation, not one incident warranted action. The fact that there was more than one meant we looked closer. Ultimately, no rules were broken but we made clear to Miller that it was very, very close to the limit of hard racing.”

Malaysia was not the first time the two riders have been involved in an on-track scuffle this season.

Miller was awarded two penalty points for causing a crash on the final lap of the Italian Grand Prix that took out both Marquez and another rival.

The pair made contact again at the Aragon Grand Prix last month, Miller crashing while Marquez rode to a podium finish. On that occasion, Race Direction cleared Marquez of wrongdoing and declared it a racing incident.

After more heated racing between the pair at Motegi, Phillip Island last weekend, and now in Malaysia, Webb has implored both riders to race cleanly in the title-deciding race.

“My instructions to both riders were; ‘don’t let this carry on to Valencia, we don’t need a grudge match’,” Webb told crash.net.

“I’m fully aware that there are two sides and someone is not going to be happy. And the last time these two were together [at Aragon] the other side wasn’t happy.

“It’s an intense championship and I appreciate that not taking action in this case possibly leaves us open to things carrying on to Valencia.

“I impressed on them that is not what we want.”

Originally published as Jack Miller cleared of dangerous riding in Malaysian Moto3 after protest from Alex Marquez’s team