Leonard Smith caught the action for RacerViews at Phillip Island this weekend. Here we take a look at the Moto3 action from trackside
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Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Miller rode brilliantly from eighth on the grid to cross the line 0.029s ahead of championship rival Marquez, with Rins just 0.003s behind his Estrella Galicia 0,0 colleague in third. With the victory Miller reduced the standings deficit to 20 points with two races to come at Sepang and Valencia.
The Australian fans were treated to another tense Moto3 contest with Miller, Marquez and Rins running in a large front group of nine and with the race lead changing constantly throughout the 23-lap battle.
The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider prevailed in a thrilling race that was decided in the last few metres, following an intriguing battle at the front with Marquez and Alex Rins.
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Miller’s win reduced the deficit between him and the Moto3™ World Championship leader Marquez, after his rival finished second, with Rins a close third.
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Starting from the third row did not prevent Miller from going for the win in front of his home fans. The Australian gained two positions on the opening lap, and six laps later was at the head of a large front group of up to 11 riders.
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Throughout the 23-lap race overtaking was continuous and slipstreaming key on the home straight. It was precisely on the straight that Miller took the lead by the first corner of the final lap. He would not relinquish the spot before the chequered flag and took victory by 0.029s.
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With two Grands Prix remaining and 50 points available, Miller lies second with a total of 231 points –20 behind Marquez. The next race comes next weekend at the Malaysian circuit of Sepang.
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“I couldn’t be happier, after a qualifying session as difficult as Saturday’s was,” said Miller. “It is the first time we have won – or even got on the podium – after failing to qualify on the front row. I cannot be more grateful to the team because they pushed me to do a great job all weekend and solved our problems. So I thank them, as well as KTM, for the fact that I was provided with a bike with which I could fight for the win.”
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“I am very happy and satisfied to have won, after a few races without doing so. Winning here at home, in Australia, is really special.”
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Efren Vazquez (SaxoPrint-RTG) was part of that front group and he was unlucky to miss the podium, finishing just 0.012s behind Rins.
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John McPhee (SaxoPrint-RTG) was less than a tenth of a second behind Vazquez in fifth, with Alexis Masbou (Ongetta-Rivacold) just 0.108s behind the Scotsman in sixth.
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All the riders except Miguel Oliveira (Mahindra Racing) raced with medium front and rear tyres, Oliveira selecting a hard front and crossing the line seventh.
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Jakub Kornfeil (Calvo Team), Niklas Ajo (Avant Tecno Husqvarna Ajo) and Niccolo Antonelli (Junior Team GO&FUN) completed the top ten.
Andrea Locatelli (San Carlo Team Italia) and Zulfahmi Khairrudin (Ongetta-AirAsia) both fell at the start of the second lap.
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Juanfran Guevara (Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3) and Isaac Viñales (Calvo Team) came together while fighting with the front runners and they were both able to initially rejoin but Viñales ultimately could not finish. Enea Bastianini (Junior Team GO&FUN Gresini) pulled off whilst fighting for points with a technical problem at Lukey Heights.
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The closing laps saw Romano Fenati (SKY Racing Team VR46) crash out, soon after Danny Kent (Red Bull Husqvarna Ajo) and Brad Binder (Ambrogio Racing) collided. Kent and Binder were able to rejoin, the latter gaining a single point in 15th.
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Photos by Leonard Smith, October 2014
Words from press materials
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