Jack Miller “disappointed to have let everyone down” after Australian MotoGP crash

Jack Miller’s dream of completing his strongest weekend as a Yamaha rider with a home podium in Sunday’s Australian MotoGP ended with an early crash.

Miller, who qualified on the front row and finished just shy of the podium in Saturday’s Sprint, was running in fifth when his 250th GP ended at Turn 6 on lap five.

“Not the way I wanted to end what had been a positive weekend,” Miller said. “I got a decent start and was in the front group, although I was struggling a bit more than in the previous days, especially in Turns 2 and 6.

“I felt I had to push a little harder to make it turn, whether it be the Pirelli [Moto2 and Moto3] rubber or the extra fuel, but we were only two litres more than warm-up.

“After a couple of warnings at Turn 6 - with some vibrations going in - the third time the bike just said ’no more‘ and went away from me.

“I‘m disappointed to have let everyone down after what had been a strong weekend where we showed great pace. I‘ll try to take the positives and understand what went wrong today.”

After a runner-up finish for Joel Kelso in Moto3 and victory for Senna Agius in Moto2, Miller was hoping to complete an Australian podium run across the three classes.

“I was stoked for the other boys. I love when Aussies do well. I enjoy that success. I try to feed off it. Unfortunately, today we weren't able to join the club,” he said.

Pramac Yamaha team director Gino Borsoi said that Miller had done nothing obviously wrong in the accident.

“We‘ve checked the data, and it seems that Jack didn‘t do anything unusual - most likely, the extra fuel weight at the beginning of the race made braking more difficult for him,” Borsoi said.

“It‘s disappointing, because the crash wasn‘t caused by a braking issue or a rider error.”

Team-mate Miguel Oliveira also struggled in the early laps, dropping to 19th before recovering to twelfth.

“I managed the rear tyre well, although in the first few laps I struggled a bit - the bike was running wide in every corner, and I couldn‘t be as fast as I wanted,” Oliveira said.

“In the final part of the race, though, I found a much better rhythm, made a few overtakes, and scored some points. Today‘s electronic changes helped make the bike a bit better, and finishing the weekend on a positive note is a good boost heading into Malaysia.”

Borsoi added: “From mid-distance onwards, he had a pace very close to the top five, which allowed him to make up ground. If he hadn‘t started so far back, he could have fought with Rins for a place in the top ten.”