MotoGP – Jack Miller’s last lap panic
In an interview, Jack Miller confirmed that he did not expect Miguel Oliveira to make the move he did on the last corner to win the race.
Jack Miller had a very consistent race in both parts, running in the front pack for the whole race, firstly behind Joan Mir in part 1, then behind Pol Espargaro in part two.
Miller let Espargaro lead most of the 12 laps in the sprint race, however, when Pol Espargaro took an overly defensive line into turn 3 following a mistake by the KTM team expertly pointed out by Neil Hodgson, Jack Miller capitalised on this and made up time on the final lap.
Miller drafted the KTM down the back straight before overtaking Espargaro on Turn 4 to attempt to win the race, he was quickly demoted back to second by Espargaro.
Jack Miller attempted a last-lap overtake on Espargaro, the same way Dovizioso did on Marquez in previous years at the circuit.
The move forced both riders off of the racing line, Miguel Oliveira noticed this gap and blazed past the pair to take his first MotoGP class win. Following the race Miller spoke to Motorsport.com and said, “We just tried to reset, refocus for the sprint race, it kind of reminded me of the old days in Australian championship.”
“12 laps went real quick, great little fight there at the end. I wasn’t expecting Oliveira to come through, I thought it was between Pol and I, and if it was I’d got him. I did what I needed to do, and then I just came out and I looked at Pol and then I heard [an engine noise] up the inside. It was Oliveira. I said, ‘where did he come from?”
“I was honestly panicking then because I thought there was going to be a line of them [other riders].”
Thankfully for Miller, it was just Oliveira, Miller was able to blast down the straight to take his first-ever MotoGP class second place after only ever winning or finishing in third place.
Featured image – www.motogp.com
