Broken leg won’t keep Aussie MotoGP star Jack Miller from Phillip Island pre-season testing

ONE month since breaking his right leg, Aussie MotoGP rider Jack Miller will be legged aboard his 1000cc Honda for pre-season testing at Phillip Island.

Jack Miller waves to the crowd at Honda Corner during morning warm up for the Australian Moto GP at Phillip Island. Picture: Stephen Harman

ONE month since breaking his right leg, Aussie MotoGP rider Jack Miller will throw that same leg over his 1000cc Honda for pre-season testing at Phillip Island on Wednesday.

Miller has undergone intensive rehab since fracturing the fibula and tibia while training on a dirt bike in Spain.

His recovery has meant some time at the family home near Townsville as well as some physio work with the fitness team at the North Queensland Cowboys.

“I’m itching to get on the bike. The first test is just a shakedown and get familiar with the bike and get some laps under my belt,” said Miller.

“Just try to put in a safe but solid test is the main thing.

“I love this track so hopefully we can put in some good times. We’re not going to go out there and kill ourselves on the first day.”

Miller, who turned 21 last month, said the injury did not halt a fierce off-season training regimen.

“That (injury) didn’t slow us down at all,” he said.

A combination of running, cycling and gym work has meant Miller has shed 8kg in the off-season, back to just 66kg, his racing weight during his Moto3 season in 2014.

The bike’s rear (foot) brake will be softened to accommodate his weaker leg.

Jack Miller has big plans for the new MotoGP season.

This week’s testing will be Miller’s first serious hit-out with the Marc VDS team’s Honda RC213V since moving from LCR Honda at the end of 2015, his debut season in the premier class.

“The potential of the bike is so much higher. I’ve been training really hard over the (northern) winter to be ready for it so there are no questions in my body and we can give 100 per cent this year,” he said.

The three test days will give all teams a chance to adjust to the new Michelin tyres as well as deal with the same electronic software that is common for every bike this year.

Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo won the 2015 title but the final stages were overshadowed by the spat between his team-mate Valentino Rossi and 2014 champion Marc Marquez on the factory Honda.

Rossi, the seven-time world champion, had to start from the rear of the grid in the final MotoGP in Valencia after an on-track clash with Marquez in Sepang, Malaysia.

Chatter of the MotoGP on Tuesday was over whether retired champion Casey Stoner would test-ride at Phillip Island.

The 2007 and 2011 champion rode the 2015 Ducati during testing at Sepang two weeks ago, clocking faster times than the factory team’s riders Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso.

The opening MotoGP will be held under lights in Qatar on March 20.

Originally published as Broken leg won’t keep Aussie MotoGP star Jack Miller from Phillip Island pre-season testing