Aussie Jack Miller out for redemption at Phillip Island MotoGP
MotoGP returns to Australian shores this weekend and a star Aussie rider is out for revenge after his race was ruined last year.
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Jorge Martin insisted his race-ending blunder in Indonesia had not dented his confidence, vowing to stay calm and reclaim the MotoGP world title lead in Australia this weekend.
The Spanish ace was leading the grand prix in Lombok last Sunday by three seconds when he pushed his Pramac bike too hard and crashed out.
It allowed Italian world champion Francesco Bagnaia to snatch an unexpected victory from 13th on the grid and with it 25 points to surge back into the championship lead with five legs of the season left.
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“It wasn’t easy after the race and that evening I was thinking about it a lot,” said Martin, who is 18 points behind the Ducati star in what has become a two-horse race to the world title.
“But I was lucky that we have this race straight away to start thinking about this weekend, so I’m just getting straight to work here.” Martin took pole position last year on the challenging Phillip Island circuit, and said he was confident of being fast again for the sprint race on Saturday and grand prix on Sunday.
“We are competitive every weekend, we are fighting for a win always and we have to just do the same,” he said.
“I’m confident in all areas, I feel I am strong, I am fast so I have to be calm and try to make the most of the speed. Hopefully I can recover the points.” Martin is a proven performer in the rain and that could be a factor with wild weather forecast.
Bagnaia is also an accomplished all-weather rider and said the waterfront Phillip Island track, with its sweeping turns and overtaking opportunities, was one of his favourites.
“This track is always hard. I mean it looks like a normal Friday with no wind, then on Saturday it’s some wind and then Sunday will be difficult because we will have like 12 degrees (Celsius), wind of 50kph and rain,” he said.
“So it can be very, very tough, but I love to ride here. I love everything about it.” The 2022 race was a thriller with Spain’s Alex Rins crossing first ahead of Spanish great Marc Marquez and Bagnaia in one of the closest finishes the sport has known.
Martin smashed the nine-year lap record to grab pole, only to finish seventh.
Being pole-sitter in Australia is no guarantee of success, with only four riders going on to win — Valentino Rossi in 2003, Casey Stoner (2008 to 2012), Jorge Lorenzo in 2013 and Marc Marquez (2015 and 2017).
Six-time world champion Marquez, who has won four times in Australia, admitted another victory was unlikely given his struggles with Honda this season.
“To win this year, it will be very difficult,” said the 30-year-old, who will join Ducati satellite team Gresini Racing for the 2024 season.
“We cannot approach any race at the moment thinking we can win. We are not like one or two seconds behind the leaders, we are seven to 10 seconds behind.”
Australian rider Jack Miller has returned to form ahead of his home Grand Prix following
a mid-season slump.
The 28-year-old is out for redemption on Sunday afternoon after he was taken out by satellite Honda driver Álex Márquez last year on turn four, a day after it was named in his honor as ‘Miller Corner’.
START TIME
The Grand Prix of Australia will begin at 2pm AEDT on Sunday.
SCHEDULE (ALL TIMES AEDT)
Friday October 20
10:45am - 11:30am: Free Practice No. 1
3pm - 4:20pm: Practice
Saturday October 21
10:10am - 10:40am: Free Practice No. 2
10:50am - 11:05am: Qualifying No. 1
11:15am - 11:30am: Qualifying No. 2
3pm - 4:05pm: Sprint race (13 laps)
Sunday October 22
2pm - 2:50pm: Race (27 laps)
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1st: Francesco Bagnaia
2nd: Jorge Martin
3rd: Marco Bezzecchi
4th: Brad Binder
5th: Aleix Espargaro
6th: Maverick Vinales
7th: Johann Zarco
8th: Luca Marini
9th: Jack Miller (AUS)
10th: Fabio Quartararo
Every moment of the 2023 MotoGP on Phillip Island from qualifying, practice, to the final day of racing on Sunday is live and ad-break free during racing to stream on Kayo Sports and watch on Foxtel.
Originally published as Aussie Jack Miller out for redemption at Phillip Island MotoGP
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