Miller battles it out with Marquez
AUSSIE Jack Miller battled to fifth place in the Spanish GP at Jerez, spending much of the race fighting off six-time champion Marc Marquez.
“Doing nearly 22 laps with ‘+0 Marquez’ on your pit board is a pretty stressful deal, that’s for certain,’’ the Ducati star said.
Miller was clinging on to third place but was passed by Marquez’s Honda and Aleix Espargaro on an Aprilia in the closing stages.
But it was a solid performance for the Queenslander after crashing out – and taking Suzuki’s Joan Mir with him – the week before in Portugal.
The race was won by Miller’s Ducati teammate Pecco Bagnaia, who was flawless from pole. Bagnaia won six times last season but this year had a best of fifth before Spain.
“This is one of the most grateful wins because it comes after a long wait,” he said.
The Italian said he still had shoulder pain after crashing the week before at Portimao.
“It was important not to test too much my shoulder this weekend so I didn’t ride many laps,” he said.
Reigning champion Fabio Quartararo finished second to retain the championship lead with 89 points, seven ahead of Espargaro.
Miller, with 42 points, slipped from ninth to 11th in a packed championship field. Bagnaia was the fifth different race winner in six races.
Australian Remy Gardner’s race was effectively over after just the second corner when his KTM lost its left front wing during contact with Alex Marquez.
“The thing is unrideable like that,’’ Gardner said.