Jack Miller scores career best at Catalunya MotoGP
Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider Jack Miller ended an emotional race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with a career best 10th place finish in the MotoGP World Championship.
The 25-lap race took place in baking hot conditions that saw track temperature peak at a punishing 48 degrees, but Miller coped brilliantly with rapidly deteriorating grip to claim the first top 10 of his premier class career in a race that captivated a crowd of close to 100,000 fans.
Jack Miller: 10th
“I’m really happy to be back in the points and I had a big fight throughout the race and really enjoyed it. I tried to conserve my tyres because I knew we would lose some grip in the hot conditions and it was a strategy that paid off. I definitely feel like I got the most potential out of the bike today. I tried to save the tyres in Jerez and I probably conserved them too much and felt I could have pushed more. But today I gave it my all and I used the whole performance potential of the rear tyre. To finish in the top 10 for the first time in my MotoGP career is a really big boost for me. My guys have stuck with me all through a difficult first part of the season and I’m happy for the team. And I dedicate my first top 10 in MotoGP to my friend Luis Salom, who I will miss greatly.”
Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“After a very difficult and emotional weekend here in Barcelona, I am glad that Jack and Tito played their part in a race that was a fitting tribute to Luis Salom. Our goal as an Independent Team is always to be in the top 10 and I’m really happy Jack achieved that today to get his best ever premier class result. I hope this gives him confidence to push on in the next few races and we can see him in the top 10 on a consistent basis. There is not much I can say about Tito other than he did an unbelievable job. Honestly, I wasn’t sure he would be able to finish the race because of his condition but he never gives up and he deserved to finish in the points after demonstrating so much determination.”
Tito Rabat produced a truly heroic performance to score his first World Championship points since round three at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas.
Riding just 15 days after breaking his left collarbone in Mugello, Rabat secured 14th place with a daring overtake on Michele Pirro on the final lap.
After Miller and Rabat finished inside the points scoring places together for only the second time in 2016, the pair can now look forward to making further progress with the performance of their Honda RC213V in tomorrow’s one-day post race test session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Tito Rabat: 14th
“I am really happy to finish inside the points in my home race and I want to thank all the people that helped me to get this result just over two weeks after I broke my collarbone. It was very a physically demanding race for me in the hot conditions but I’m so pleased to get more crucial mileage under my belt on the bike and I was able to gain a lot of experience, despite being less than 100% fit. I made a bad start in the race but I recovered well and made some good overtakes and I’m happy to finish. It has been a difficult weekend after the sad passing of Luis Salom and I was determined to finish for him. Now I can focus on continuing my recovery to be back to full fitness in Assen.”
