Jack Miller taken out at Mugello MotoGP
Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider Jack Miller made an early exit from the Italian Grand Prix when he was the innocent victim of a turn one crash.
It was crushing blow for the Australian rider who was confident of a points scoring finish on the sweeping Mugello circuit in Tuscany.
But the bad luck that has dogged Miller since a pre-season motocross training crash continued when he was bumped out of the race just 500 metres after the start.
Miller had qualified 17th on the grid and had a good feeling with his Honda RC213V going into what he anticipated would be a 21-lap race.
Jack Miller: DNF
“My race lasted about 500 metres but you can’t control what is out of your hands. We worked hard all weekend to have good set-up for the race so it’s really disappointing to be taken out at the first corner. I got hit from behind and Alvaro Bautista also lost the front so I think it was Bautista’s sliding bike that took me out. It’s a shame but the positives are that we improved all weekend, I’m really sorry for the team and the sponsors on a weekend when I felt good about doing a strong race. We need to put this behind us now and look ahead to the next race in Barcelona.”
Miller’s teammate Tito Rabat did not race after suffering a fractured left collarbone in practice on Saturday. Rabat will undergo surgery to plate the fracture at the Hospital Universitari Dexeus in Barcelona tomorrow.
Once the success of the surgery has been assessed, a decision will be made as to whether the former Moto2 Wordl Champion will return for his home race in Barcelona.
Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“It’s been a tough weekend for us here at Mugello, first with Tito’s crash and injury yesterday and now with Jack being hit from behind and crashing out of the race in the first turn of the first lap. The only good luck we’ve had this weekend is that Jack was uninjured in the crash. We are not where we want to be in terms of results and we need to address that as a matter of some urgency. We will sit down this week to identify where we can improve ahead of the next race in Barcelona, which is only two weeks away.”
