Miller shrugs off shoulder pain, misses out on MotoGP glory again

Jack Miller was in a philosophical mood following the Styrian MotoGP after gritting through a shoulder injury, only to miss out on victory at the Red Bull Ring on the run to the line.

Displaying greater longevity in this weekend’s once more interrupted race after fading in the Austrian MotoGP, Miller threw himself into the thick of the action in the lattermost 12-lap sprint, moving clear in the final laps together with KTM pair Pol Espargaro and Miguel Oliveira.

Though it initialled looked as though victory would come down to either Miller or Espargaro, the pair ran into the final corner too deep as they sought the advantage onto the home straight, opening the door for Oliveira to instead snatch it on the run to the line.

The second weekend in succession the Pramac Racing rider has dropped a position in the final bends – having missed out on second to Joan Mir at the same point – the Australian refused to dwell on missed opportunities in what remains his eighth career MotoGP rostrum visit.

“He [Oliveira] caught me by surprise, that’s for certain! I thought it was between myself and Pol, so I fired one up the inside of him… I want to see the timesheets because I have been fast in sector one all weekend but this was the first time I got limited in sixth gear.

“Pol went a little long, so I thought it was now or never to get in front. I didn’t get the greatest run out of seven and the KTM seems to track really well out of eight.

“I knew Pol would go for it, so I tried to brake as hard as I could for the cut-back, then we’re coming down the hill and all I’m thinking is don't go on the ‘green’, then it was [mimics sound of Oliveira passing]… in Moto3 when something like that happened there was normally six of them, so I was waiting for another 3 to come through.”

Bouncing back from a hefty thump to his shoulder following an accident during FP3 on Saturday, Miller reveals he underwent an MRI ahead of the race.

“The crash itself wasn’t that big, I have had plenty of bigger ones and walked away fine but in some way I hit the gravel it got me. I noticed it at the time a little bit, but I didn’t take it too seriously and then as soon as I got on the bike in FP4 I thought ‘this is not good’.”

“I turn off the pit-lane limiter and as soon as I did that it felt like someone sticking a knife in my back. At the end of Q2 I knew I needed one lap to get a decent spot on the grid then as soon as it finished yesterday I sat on an ice machine on and off I until about 11pm last night, massive thanks to Clinica Mobile and everyone there helping me out, the doctors from the circuit and those traveling with us.

The doctors got me in for an MRI, so I was up early this morning before the race so it was aa hectic 24hrs, but I was able to iced it through the night and I woke up feeling better but I wouldn’t know until I hopped on the bike.

“I felt good straight away and going alright in both races but I was happy to see that red flag… gutted for Mir because he was riding really strong, I tried to follow him for nine laps but that was all I had. Unless he had tyre problems, he had that thing sorted.”

Miller’s two back-to-back podiums lifts him to third in the overall standings, 14 points adrift of MotoGP championship leader Fabio Quartararo.