English
Italiano
“I’ve seen better Sundays,” Jack Miller commented, with the sarcasm that has always distinguished him regarding the outcome of his performance at Phillip Island. The innocent victim of an accident caused by a braking point Alex Marquez missed, the Australian rider saw his motorcycle and ambitions slip out of his grasp on his home circuit in the very first moments of the race.
“Fortunately, we’re still here,” Jack continued. “It wasn’t the day I expected on my home circuit, but these are the cards that I was dealt. The start was good. I switched positions a couple of times with Pecco during the first laps, but it seemed like he wanted to attack right away, so I started to manage my tires, letting the race take place normally. The guys at the head of the race, like Martin, pushed right away. I lost something in some sectors but recuperated in others, like turn four, and I felt pretty strong in the sector between turn nine and ten. The sensations were good. Unfortunately, at turn four, I didn’t get the chance to continue with the strategy I was following until then. There was nothing I could do. I didn’t get hurt. I just have a few small abrasions, but I’m fine.”
So no hard feelings towards Alex Marquez?
“It’s not about hard feelings. We’re riders, we’re all trying to do our best in the race. I think he got carried away trying to overtake Luca Marini, but we all make mistakes. I don’t think he’s as devastated as I am for not being able to finish the race. It’s an important circuit for me. We haven’t raced here since 2019, and I would’ve preferred things to go differently.”
We saw you hugging the crowd after the accident.
“How couldn't I. Many people, both acquaintances and fans, also came from far away to watch the race and maybe see Australians get good results. Paying homage to the crowd seemed like the right thing to do. But I’m obviously personally devastated.”
And it happened right near to the corner they had just named after you.
“It’s the irony of the whole thing,” Jack continued. “But these things happen. We’ll come back even stronger next year, and we’ll do it again. This morning, during the warm-up, we had also managed to fix the last details of the set-up. The sensations on the bike in the race were really perfect. I don’t mean that I would’ve won with absolute certainty, but I feel I can reasonably say that I would’ve been able to fight in the lead group without a shadow of a doubt.”
The audience here loves you. You must have lost count of the selfies you took.
“Yeah, between those and the signatures, the atmosphere was great all weekend. Seeing so many fans present filled me with pride and joy. It’s not only a personal pleasure but also for the benefit of this sport.”
The championship is coming to an end. What do you think of the results of the other riders in this race?
“Seeing that Fabio was out of the game in the first few laps, I still think I could’ve achieved a good result. Enea and Aleix seemed to be struggling today, and they were among my main opponents. I think I could’ve beaten them. I’m obviously happy for Pecco’s result. A third place that puts him to the top of the ranking. Excluding what happened today, it was a great season for the entire Ducati team.”
A. Marquez: “I understand Miller’s anger, I made a big mistake”
Alex Marquez really did it this time, compromising his rival’s race right on his home circuit. A Sunday at Phillip Island the Spanish rider will want to forget because, right at the corner recently named after Miller, with a bitter irony that’s palpable, he hit the innocent Australian rider full on during lap 8, putting an end to the race for both of them. So the LCR Honda team had nothing left to do but feel remose, and we saw them go to the Ducati box to apologize right away, for a mistake that weighed on both of their GPs. The accident was then sanctioned by Race Direction with a long lap penalty in the upcoming race in Malaysia.
“I feel really bad for everyone because of what happened,” Alex commented. “I know that Jack is angry, and he has every right to be. In that stretch, it doesn't take much to make mistakes and end up on the ground. So I tried to be careful, but I still wanted to attack, since the other riders were overtaking me. I braked long and then picked up speed, but I dragged Jack down, unfortunately.”
Alex didn’t hesitate in taking all the blame for the accident that has shattered his rival’s aspirations.
“We threw away a great opportunity to achieve an important result. Everyone can make a mistake, but I went too far, and I don’t deny it. Like I said, I understand his anger, since there’s also the adrenaline of the race. I went to his garage to apologize to him and his entire team, and I also spoke to Tardozzi, who wanted to reassure me, telling me that these are things that can happen. After all, it’s part of this sport.”
In the end, the Spanish rider didn’t hide his regret, even for his own aspirations in the race.
“I felt good with the tire and had a good pace, so I decided to attack. Today, all the riders wanted to be in that group and try for a win. But, unfortunately, it didn’t go as I hoped,” Alex Marquez concluded.
