Miller holds nerve to win wet and wild French GP
JACK Miller has endured enough setbacks in his race career to know you sometimes have to take the hard road.
And so it was that the Aussie MotoGP star overcame pit-lane penalties, an excursion in the gravel trap and a “wall of rain” at the Le
Mans circuit to claim back-toback race victories. “It was hectic, very hectic,’’ he said.
The French GP was a wet and wild affair – starting in the dry, then a downpour swept over the track before sunshine greeted the chequered flag.
Through it all the Aussie held his nerve, hitting the lead on lap 12 on the factory Ducati then keeping his distance from Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) and then the fast-finishing Johann Zarco (Ducati) to finish four seconds clear.
Miller’s teammate Pecco Bagnaia was fourth from Danilo Petrucci (KTM) fifth.
The result pushed Miller up to fourth position on the championship ladder, 16 points behind Quartararo. “Back-to-back wins, just fantastic. Somebody pinch me, because I must be dreaming.’’ he said. The two victories were the first back-to-back wins by an Australian since Casey Stoner in 2012.
Miller said the wind was so strong mid-race he thought the race would be red-flagged.
Miller also had to take two long lap penalties for speeding into pit lane.
Eight-time world champion Marc Marquez’s eventful return from injury continued. At one stage the 28-year-old Honda rider led in the rain then crashed but remounted to storm back into the top 10 only to fall again after 17 laps.