Miller: “That’s what you call a heavy battle!”

Aussie gets a top ten at home after race-long fight

Assen GP winner Jack Miller (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) was back on fighting form after getting back to near full strength for his home GP at Phillip Island, the the Australian qualified in a career best fifth in a difficult Q2, before going on to battle inside the top ten – and take P10 by the end of the seven rider scrap. Miller had also gambled on tyres after the only dry track time of the weekend proved to be the extended Warm Up session, and raced his hard compound front tyre into the unknown, having had no time to try the option before lights out. One tangle with Repsol Honda Team’s Nicky Hayden saw the American slide out at Turn 4, but Miller is happy with decent points and a good finish.

Jack Miller (P10): “I think that’s what you call a heavy battle! It was an intense race and I enjoyed it. It got a bit scary at times because you have no idea who is going to lunge up the inside from one corner to the next. Going into Doohan Corner at over 330kph it was getting a bit crazy because it was a case of who dared brake the latest. It was a lot of fun and good to have a good old-fashioned scrap because it helped me learn a lot. The important thing was to finish with some decent points and I did that. I also think the home fans could see how determined I was to put on a good show for them and they definitely got good value for money from us. I felt I could have been in a better position after qualifying in fifth but I got a bit messed up on the last lap. I took a risk to race the hard front Michelin tyre and I’d not done one flying lap with that option before the lights went out. But it was the rear tyre that was causing me a few issues because I had a few moments. I was losing the rear on entry and ran wide a few times but I’m happy with a top 10."