Jack Miller

Valencia MotoGP: Miller tops afternoon practice ahead of Espargaro(Results)

Kevin Peterson05 mins

ack Miller ended Friday at the Valencia Grand Prix fastest with a rapid final tour in FP2, the Aussie narrowly leading Honda’s Pol Espargaro. The final Friday practice session of the season started out pretty much bone-dry following a wet opening test of the weekend just hours earlier, allowing the riders to lap around six second per-lap faster immediately. Times continued to drop throughout the session as the track rubbered in further and further, with a final qualifying-like shootout taking place in the closing minutes to decide a potentially crucial top ten if the rain makes another appearance on Saturday. Miller ended up finding the most time on his final effort as he fired in a 1:30.927s to move ahead of Ducati team-mate Francesco Bagnaia, though the Italian would ultimately be shuffled back to third by the session’s conclusion by Espargaro. The Spaniard looked good to further improve on his best lap on his final circulation, though asked a little too much from the front-tyre of his Honda and went down at Turn 6. Alex Rins ended up fourth for Suzuki ahead of Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martin, while Takaaki Nakagami lifted himself well into the top ten in sixth with a late improvement of his own. Joan Mir-who scored his one and only career MotoGP win at Valencia last year-ended Friday seventh ahead of KTM’s Brad Binder, while Andrea Dovizioso was a surprise ninth for Petronas SRT Yamaha having struggled for speed in recent races, the Italian only 0.670s adrift of Miller’s benchmark as the only Yamaha rider in the top ten. Johann Zarco completed the ten that could possibly decide who heads directly to the pole shootout on Saturday afternoon, the Frenchman denying countryman and 2021 world champion Fabio Quartararo the spot by just over a tenth-of-a-second. Franco Morbidelli held position at the head of the timesheets for a significant portion of the session before being shuffled to 13th by the end, while Alex Marquez struggled to match the speed of his fellow Honda pilot’s down in 14th. Aprilia continued their recent raw speed deficit with Aleix Espargaro 12th ahead of team-mate Maverick Vinales in 18th, while Valentino Rossi’s final MotoGP weekend continued to look challenging as he ended the day 21st and last-albeit only 1.3 seconds from the ultimate pace. VALENCIA MOTOGP, CIRCUIT RICARDO TORMO – FREE PRACTICE (2) RESULTS POS RIDER NAT TEAM TIME/DIFF LAP MAX 1 Jack Miller AUS Ducati Team (GP21) 1’30.927s 19/20 329k 2 Pol Espargaro SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +0.012s 19/19 331k 3 Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati Team (GP21) +0.068s 19/20 331k 4 Alex Rins SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) +0.409s 19/19 327k 5 Jorge Martin SPA Pramac Ducati (GP21)* +0.469s 17/17 329k 6 Takaaki Nakagami JPN LCR Honda (RC213V) +0.500s 20/20 331k 7 Joan Mir SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) +0.586s 19/20 327k 8 Brad Binder RSA Red Bull KTM (RC16) +0.594s 20/20 327k 9 Andrea Dovizioso ITA Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) +0.670s 19/22 324k 10 Johann Zarco FRA Pramac Ducati (GP21) +0.676s 20/21 332k 11 Fabio Quartararo FRA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +0.781s 16/17 323k 12 Aleix Espargaro SPA Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) +0.893s 20/21 326k 13 Franco Morbidelli ITA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +0.905s 11/20 321k 14 Alex Marquez SPA LCR Honda (RC213V) +0.925s 20/20 327k 15 Danilo Petrucci ITA KTM Tech3 (RC16) +1.156s 19/21 321k 16 Iker Lecuona SPA KTM Tech3 (RC16) +1.171s 17/18 331k 17 Miguel Oliveira POR Red Bull KTM (RC16) +1.281s 19/21 329k 18 Maverick Vinales SPA Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) +1.287s 14/16 324k 19 Enea Bastianini ITA Avintia Ducati (GP19)* +1.292s 14/14 326k 20 Luca Marini ITA Sky VR46 Avintia Ducati (GP19)* +1.302s 18/19 320k 21 Valentino Rossi ITA Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) +1.358s 17/19 324k

Bagnaia wins crash filled Algarve GP ahead of Mir and Miller(full results)

Kevin Peterson07 mins

Francesco Bagnaia has soared to a third MotoGP win in five races after dominating the Algarve Grand Prix at Portimao. Starting from pole position following a record lap time, the factory Ducati rider was imperious in running away with victory at Portimao. The race was called early, on the penultimate lap, following a collision between Iker Lecuona and Miguel Oliveira. With the results backdated to the end of Lap 23, the final margin to second-placed finisher Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) ended up at 2.478s. Off the start, it was Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) who got the best getaway to lead the field into Turn 1. Bagnaia wasted no time in regaining the lead though, getting the upper hand with a stronger exit out of the first corner, and later that same lap Mir would pass Miller too. Bagnaia and Mir quickly set about dropping Miller, who fell back into the clutches of a tight battle back behind initially led by Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing). By Lap 4, the Australian’s threat from behind was now Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol), the Spaniard having started well from his career-best grid slot of eighth. While Bagnaia upped the ante to widen his buffer over Mir to eight tenths by Lap 7 and towards 1.5s at the midway point of the race, Miller continued to fall back and was passed for third by Marquez at the start of Lap 12. Unlike the medium-shod Miller, Marquez was making his hard rear tyre work a treat. By the end of Lap 15 of 25, the order ran: Bagnaia, Mir, Marquez, Miller, Martin, Johann Zarco and champion-elect Fabio Quartararo. Starting seventh, the Monster Energy Yamaha star was sluggish off the line and struggled to find a way past the Ducatis ahead – Zarco sneaking through after Quartararo ran wide at Turn 13. The biggest improver in the opening segment was home hero Oliveira, who gained seven spots to 10th within two laps. By contrast, Maverick Viñales plummeted to last immediately – and things would get worse for Aprilia Racing Team Gresini when Aleix Espargaro crashed out on Lap 8 at Turn 1. That completed a shocking day for the older Espargaro brother, who had also crashed in Sunday warm-up. He was the second to trigger yellow flags, Danilo Petrucci (Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing) making it only to the fourth corner of the opening lap. Miller, searching for his first podium since the Catalan Grand Prix five months ago, briefly snuck back into third with a block pass at the start of Lap 19, only for Marquez to execute a criss-cross. Two laps later, Miller would make it stick after a Marquez error opened the door. A little further back, the same lap would bring Quartararo unstuck at Turn 5, a crash representing his first non-finish of 2021. Quartararo had held sixth at the time, Martin having lost positions to both Zarco and #20 moments earlier. He’d be joined in the non-finisher category by Lecuona and Oliveira, an incident which brought about the race-ending red flag. Lecuona lost his #27 on entry to Turn 13, wiping out his fellow KTM competitor. After initial concern, both riders were seen to be conscious, Lecuona appearing to apologise. The early stoppage did, however, cost Marquez any chance of launching a last-gasp assault on Miller, leaving him to settle for fourth. With the results, Bagnaia and Mir sealed second and third, respectively, in the riders’ championship. Ducati also sealed the 2021 constructors’ title. ALGARVE MOTOGP, PORTIMAO – RACE RESULTS POS RIDER NAT TEAM TIME/DIFF 1 Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati Team (GP21) 38m 17.72s 2 Joan Mir SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) +2.478s 3 Jack Miller AUS Ducati Team (GP21) +6.402s 4 Alex Marquez SPA LCR Honda (RC213V) +6.453s 5 Johann Zarco FRA Pramac Ducati (GP21) +7.882s 6 Pol Espargaro SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +9.573s 7 Jorge Martin SPA Pramac Ducati (GP21)* +10.144s 8 Alex Rins SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) +10.742s 9 Enea Bastianini ITA Avintia Ducati (GP19)* +13.840s 10 Brad Binder RSA Red Bull KTM (RC16) +14.487s 11 Takaaki Nakagami JPN LCR Honda (RC213V) +20.912s 12 Luca Marini ITA Sky VR46 Avintia Ducati (GP19)* +22.450s 13 Valentino Rossi ITA Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) +22.752s 14 Andrea Dovizioso ITA Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) +26.207s 15 Stefan Bradl GER Repsol Honda (RC213V) +26.284s 16 Maverick Vinales SPA Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) +26.828s 17 Franco Morbidelli ITA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +27.863s   Miguel Oliveira POR Red Bull KTM (RC16) DNF   Iker Lecuona SPA KTM Tech3 (RC16) DNF   Fabio Quartararo FRA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) DNF   Aleix Espargaro SPA Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) DNF   Danilo Petrucci ITA KTM Tech3 (RC16) DNF

Jack Miller dominates damp Emilia Romagna MotoGP FP2

Kevin Peterson04 mins

Ducati’s Jack Miller takes over at the top during another wet Friday practice session for the Emilia Romagna MotoGP, the second of this year’s events at Misano. Conditions were at least better than the morning session, with sunshine breaking through the clouds and a dry line starting to develop, prompting riders to switch from the soft to medium compound front wet tyre. Miller, fastest for most of this morning, was soon leading the timesheets this afternoon, where he remained to the chequered flag. FP1 leader Johann Zarco claimed second overall for a Ducati one-two, just 0.9s behind Miller, with Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro snatching a late third. World championship leader Fabio Quartararo will need to keep his fingers crossed for dry weather on Saturday morning after again struggling in the wet. The Frenchman was left down in 16th place and is currently heading for a rare Qualifying 1 appearance. Quartararo won’t be alone in hoping for a fine FP3 with Joan Mir and Marc Marquez also among those outside the top ten. Quartararo has his first chance to win the 2021 MotoGP title this weekend, providing he can keep his 52-point lead over Francesco Bagnaia to at least 50-points on Sunday. Bagnaia was eighth today. Local hero Valentino Rossi is competing in his final Italian round before retirement, but could only manage 22nd. Bagnaia won last month’s first Misano round, ahead of Quartararo and Enea Bastianini. EMILIA ROMAGNA MOTOGP, MISANO – FREE PRACTICE (2) RESULTS POS   RIDER NAT TEAM TIME/DIFF LAP MAX 1 ^2 Jack Miller AUS Ducati Team (GP21) 1’41.305s 10/16 295k 2 ˅1 Johann Zarco FRA Pramac Ducati (GP21) +0.927s 19/19 294k 3 ^16 Aleix Espargaro SPA Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) +0.986s 17/17 290k 4 ^5 Iker Lecuona SPA KTM Tech3 (RC16) +1.271s 8/22 286k 5 ^2 Miguel Oliveira POR Red Bull KTM (RC16) +1.286s 16/21 288k 6 ^5 Luca Marini ITA Sky VR46 Avintia Ducati (GP19)* +1.296s 16/16 290k 7 ^17 Lorenzo Salvadori ITA Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)* +1.310s 17/18 286k 8 ˅2 Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati Team (GP21) +1.364s 5/21 293k 9 ˅1 Danilo Petrucci ITA KTM Tech3 (RC16) +1.470s 18/18 286k 10 ˅6 Jorge Martin SPA Pramac Ducati (GP21)* +1.504s 19/21 295k 11 ˅1 Joan Mir SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) +1.537s 11/17 289k 12 ^8 Enea Bastianini ITA Avintia Ducati (GP19)* +1.537s 18/18 292k 13 ^1 Alex Marquez SPA LCR Honda (RC213V) +1.574s 12/17 291k 14 ˅12 Marc Marquez SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +1.578s 6/18 290k 15 ^1 Alex Rins SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) +1.639s 18/18 290k 16 ^2 Fabio Quartararo FRA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +1.792s 9/19 287k 17 ^6 Brad Binder RSA Red Bull KTM (RC16) +1.932s 20/22 286k 18 ˅5 Michele Pirro ITA Ducati Team (GP21) +2.108s 6/13 286k 19 ˅4 Pol Espargaro SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +2.165s 8/17 290k 20 ˅15 Franco Morbidelli ITA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +2.280s 18/18 284k 21 ˅4 Maverick Vinales SPA Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) +2.374s 16/16 291k 22 ˅10 Valentino Rossi ITA Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) +2.484s 19/19 286k 23 ˅1 Takaaki Nakagami JPN LCR Honda (RC213V) +2.770s 21/21 289k 24 ˅3 Andrea Dovizioso ITA Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) +3.338s 10/16 286k