Introduction:
A rising star in MotoGP and soon-to-be multi-race winner, Jack Miller, was about to physically and metaphorically launch himself into the headlines. He would score his first win of his career later that season at the Assen GP, but this weekend he was competing with the other mid-field teams at the famed Bugatti Circuit, part of Circuit de La Sarthe in France. The track is also home of the 24 Heures du Mans, an event considered the pinnacle of motorsports that drivers from NASCAR to Indycar to even Formula One wish to compete in, and would die to win. Even now, in 2021, Italian MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi- considered the G.O.A.T of Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing- has expressed interest in competing for victory at the endurance race.
However, we are not talking about the 24 Heures. That race deserves (and has rightfully been the subject of) a few novels. We are here, in 2017, for the fifth round of the MotoGP World Championship. To nobody’s surprise, then 3-time premier class champion Marc Marquez leads the standings in what would become his fourth championship in his 5 years since joining the top ranks. Jack Miller, in his third year of competition, is riding for the Estrella Garcia-sponsored Marc VDS Honda team. He is in his second, and last, year with the team. He will jump ship to Pramac Ducati from 2018-2020, and be promoted to the Factory Ducati team in 2021. Jack Miller is riding for any points he can get, and to put his name out there as a worthy option for any team looking for a rider.
The opening sessions:
At this point, he has been pretty impressive. Excluding a singular DNF at Jerez the weekend before, he has yet to fall below 10th place in race results. After Jerez, Miller sits 12th in standings. Pramac Ducati has an open seat for the end of the year, and if they had not started considering Miller for 2018, they would after this weekend. Jack was lightning fast in Free Practice 1, topping the charts 1.288 seconds ahead of Marquez. He would follow up his exceptional performance in FP1 with a 7th fastest time in FP2, trailing 1st by 1.056 seconds, and following 6th by 0.104 seconds. For a team without factory resources, this is very respectable from both team and rider. FP3 would prove to be similar, setting a time good enough for 3rd, following Scott Redding on the Pramac Ducati Miller was targeting and Cal Crutchlow, also riding a Honda. FP4, however, would be very bittersweet.
The Crash:
Miller headed out for FP4 in good spirits, despite a spat with 5-time champion Jorge Lorenzo, in which he told the Majorcan to “shove [his opinion] up his arse.” Miller proceeded to set another time fast enough for 3rd place, but would be tested later in the session. Coming out of the long, fast Turn 1, Miller’s front tire buckled and veered right. For a split second, as I watched from my TV several thousands of miles away, I got instant flashbacks of Marco Simoncelli at Malaysia 2011, where Marco would veer in front of two riders: Texan Colin Edwards and the aforementioned Valentino Rossi. Rossi made fatal contact with Simoncelli’s neck, and the accident destroyed Vale from the inside. But here in France, luckily there is nobody to the right of Miller. However, he does veer straight towards the grass at a high enough speed where contact with the wall following would surely result in injury. Miller, attempting to regain control of his wild, bucking Honda, reaches the grass.
This is where the crash takes a turn that makes it look worse, but may have saved Miller’s body from injury or worse. On that Friday before, when Miller topped FP1, it had been in wet conditions. The tarmac was wet, the grass was wet, everything was christened with rain. Luckily for Miller, he excels in wet conditions. This would later be proven by his victory at Assen, which would also end up as a wet race. However, the caveat to this is that grass stays wet even a day or more after the tarmac is dry. As a result, a motorcycle capable of exceeding 200 miles per hour hitting grass at such speeds makes it control as if it is on ice. So when Jack hit the grass hitting speeds in excess of 130 mph, his bike skated through the grass as if it were on a frozen lake. Then, his bike hit a bump when it transitioned back to tarmac run-off, and launched the rear into the air. As the bike comes back to Earth, it gets violently squirrely and sends the rear end back into the air just slightly. This happens as the bike leans to the left while simultaneously heading for the tire barrier at an obtuse angle. These factors, especially with the rear end slightly in the air, allows the wall to grab the front tire and launch Miller over the handlebars, likely exposing him to several g-forces as his helmet-protected head rushes towards the tarmac. Jack is sent tumbling head-over-heels-over-head-over-heels several times as his bike does the same, shredding fairing from the outside and destroying many internal components. The bike then hits the gravel, and immediately begins tumbling horizontally, destroying more of itself and throwing gravel several feet away. As the bike and Jack come to rest, the viewer would not be blamed for expecting Miller to be injured at least to a moderate degree. However, the audience and the broadcast booth are both stunned as Miller stands up and begins communicating with track marshals. He, somehow, escaped injury from possibly the worst crash in recent memory.
Qualifying:
Miller jumps on a marshal scooter and is taken back to his pit stall, where he begins relaying what happened to his team and preparing for qualifying later on that day. Miller does not just go about his day, however. When interviewed with a reporter, he admitted he recognized how lucky he really was to have escaped that crash without anything more than maybe a few bruises. In that moment, however, he cannot afford to let that overtake his main focus: qualifying. Because he set third fastest in FP4, he was able to advance directly to Q2 and compete for pole position. Miller headed out for qualifying and set a time good enough for 11th on the grid. Not terrible, but being only a few hours after his horrific crash, impressive that he even made it out for qualifying. After qualifying, a reporter from Autosport caught up with Miller and asked him about not only his crash, but also qualifying. "In Q2 I went quicker on my first run but my hand was not perfect after the crash and I struggled to stop the bike on the brakes in the final corner and touched the kerb. A shame but I'll be ready for the race after I get some ice on my hand and knee to get the swelling down,” replied Miller.
Warm Up and Race:
Miller was obviously sore after such an eventful Saturday. So heading out to Warm Up, expectations were fairly low. His results definitely showed that he was still in some pain, finishing the session 17th out of 23 riders, but only eight tenths off of first place Marc Marquez.
The race started without much issue, and Jack (and fans) were most likely just looking for points today, in order to not fall out of the mid-pack battle. When the lights go out, Johann Zarco on the Monster Energy Tech3 Yamaha and Maverick Viñales on the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP overtake Marquez in Turn 1 and battle to Turn 2 side-by-side. However, Jack Miller has also made up some spots already.
Lap 1:
Johann Zarco
Maverick Viñales
Valentino Rossi
Marc Marquez
Cal Crutchlow
Andrea Dovizioso
Dani Pedrosa
Scott Redding
Jack Miller
Pol Espargaro
Two spots on Lap 1 is usually not very impressive, but seeing as most expected Miller to fall back and take it easy, seeing him compete in the Top 10 is a surprising, but welcome sight. At the end of Lap 1, however, we have our first retirement: Alvaro Bautista. That leaves 22 riders left in the race, but does not affect Miller much, because Bautista was behind. At the end of Lap 5, the Top 10 is virtually identical, except Pol Espargaro has fallen back to 12th, and Jorge Lorenzo now occupies that spot.
Lap 10:
Maverick Viñales /\
Johann Zarco \/
Valentino Rossi -
Marc Marquez -
Cal Crutchlow -
Andrea Dovizioso -
Dani Pedrosa -
Jack Miller /\
Jorge Lorenzo /\
Danilo Petrucci /\
Jack has worked his way up to 8th place. Other notables, Jorge Lorenzo and Danilo Petrucci have also made their way farther into the Top 10. Perhaps the biggest change in the race, Maverick Viñales has overtaken Johann Zarco for the lead. Maverick will go on to lead the rest of the way from here on out.
Lap 15:
Maverick Viñales -
Johann Zarco -
Valentino Rossi -
Marc Marquez -
Dani Pedrosa /\
Andrea Dovizioso -
Cal Crutchlow \/
Jorge Lorenzo /\
Jack Miller \/
Danilo Petrucci -
With 14 Laps To Go, Viñales continued to lead from Zarco, Rossi, and Marquez. Pedrosa moved up into 5th position, and Cal Crutchlow dropped to 7th. Notably, Jorge Lorenzo and Jack Miller swapped places. Jorge Lorenzo is on the Factory Ducati Corse team for his first season, and is running lower than he did the year before with Yamaha. Jack Miller now has to battle back up if he wants to finish in the second-to-last position of the Top 10. Danilo Petrucci remains in the 10th position. Over the last 5 laps, Scott Redding and Karel Abraham have retired from the race. Scott Redding topped FP3 earlier in the weekend, so it is a disappointing end to what was an impressive weekend for the British rider.
Lap 18:
Maverick Viñales -
Johann Zarco -
Valentino Rossi -
Dani Pedrosa /\
Andrea Dovizoso /\
Cal Crutchlow /\
Jorge Lorenzo /\
Jack Miller /\
Aleix Espargaro /\
Jonas Folger /\
So far, we check-in every 5 or 10 laps. However, something major has happened that requires discussion. The Top 3 remains the same, but Marc Marquez is now missing from the Top 10. In fact, he has fallen all the way to 19th, last rider running on the track. What happened? Coming into the same chicane Jack Miller had his accident in in FP4 on Saturday, Marquez lost the front end. Marquez, however, bailed without trying to regain control, and slid right into the gravel. Marquez is able to rejoin, but not several places out of the lead pack and out of contention for victory. This allows every rider from Dani Pedrosa- who was in 5th- to Sylvain Guintoli- who was in 19th- to move up one or more positions. Jack Miller is back up to 8th, and all he needs to do is stay ahead of Aleix Espargaro on a young Aprilia team, Jonas Folger on the other Tech3 Yamaha in the field, and Danilo Petrucci; who is the only rider to lose a spot as a result of the Marquez incident.
Lap 25:
Maverick Viñales -
Valentino Rossi /\
Johann Zarco \/
Dani Pedrosa -
Cal Crutchlow /\
Andrea Dovizioso \/
Jorge Lorenzo -
Aleix Espargaro /\
Jack Miller \/
Jonas Folger -
4 Laps To Go, and a lot has changed. Not shown, Marc Marquez has officially retired from the race and will receive no points for the fifth round of the 2017 season. Danilo Petrucci has also retired, finishing officially one place ahead of Marquez. This will put a temporary hindrance on both title pursuits. Valentino Rossi has moved ahead of Johann Zarco for 2nd, Cal Crutchlow has moved in front of Andrea Dovizioso, and Aleix Espargaro has moved in front of Jack Miller. The race is down to the wire, and it will take a miracle and some tough riding for Miller to pass Espargaro. Any hopes of a Top 5 are more than likely squashed unless several riders ahead crash out. Cal Crutchlow moving ahead of Andrea Dovizioso confirms several valuable points for the satellite LCR Honda team.
Lap 27:
Valentino Rossi /\
Maverick Viñales \/
Johann Zarco -
Dani Pedrosa -
Andrea Dovizioso /\
Cal Crutchlow \/
Jorge Lorenzo -
Jonas Folger /\
Jack Miller -
Loris Baz /\
Whew. Two laps later, and there is already so much happening. Valentino Rossi has made a pass on Maverick Viñales for the lead with One Lap To Go. This would certainly shrink the gap between the two Factory Yamaha teammates, who sit 1-2 in the championship at the moment. Dovizioso has also gotten back around Crutchlow, and as Folger passes Jack Miller for 9th, Aleix Espargaro’s Aprilia suffers an issue and he is forced to retire. This also promotes Loris Baz to 10th position. With One To Go, this race is certainly not over.
CHECKERED FLAG:
Maverick Viñales /\
Johann Zarco /\
Dani Pedrosa /\
Andrea Dovizioso /\
Cal Crutchlow /\
Jorge Lorenzo /\
Jonas Folger /\
Jack Miller /\
Loris Baz /\
Andrea Iannone /\
At the end of 28 laps, the battle for the win came down to the two Movistar Yamaha teammates. Maverick chased down Vale and when Rossi ran wide in Sector 2, Viñales took advantage. Now, with Rossi chasing Maverick, the pressure was on. Heading into Turn 11 in the final sector of the track, Rossi loses the front end and crashes out of second place. He will end up retiring. This promotes everybody third on back one or more spots, and completely shakes up the rest of the Top 10. This includes Jack Miller, who ends up finishing 8th after a long, painful, but still incredibly impressive weekend. Andrea Iannone, who makes his first appearance in the Top 10 today, comes home 10th. Riders like Jonas Folger, Cal Crutchlow, Loris Baz, Andrea Iannone, and Jack Miller all bring home very valuable points for the championship hunt.
Conclusion:
The weekend as a whole was one of ups, downs, and incredible performances out of Jack Miller. Topping FP1 and finishing 3rd in FP2 and FP3 were definitely highlights. Despite his horrifying accident in FP4, he managed to qualify 11th out of 23 riders, and forge up to 8th amid crashes, mechanical failures, and mistakes ahead of him. Miller would go on to win the 2017 Assen Grand Prix under wet conditions, and get picked up by Pramac Ducati in 2018. He would have several strong performances, but he would get his first dry-conditions win in 2020 for the Factory Ducati Corse racing effort. Jack Miller is a star of the sport, and has the character to attract new fans.
Sources:
Accident Footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs4i-KdJq5M
https://us.motorsport.com/motogp/news/miller-in-no-rush-to-confirm-2018-motogp-plans-932289/3036970/
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