MotoGP: Strong season opener for Miller

Jack Miller has made a strong start to the 2017 MotoGP season after taking the Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Honda to his best ever dry weather performance of eighth at the season-opening Qatar Grand Prix.

But despite a somewhat topsy-turvy race thanks to adverse weather conditions the Aussie was able to put together not only a good race result but a solid opening weekend – something he’s hoping to build on from now on.

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“After all that’s happened this weekend with the weather and the lost track time, it is a great way to start the season inside the top ten. The small crash in FP1 really set us back on Thursday and then the weather pretty much dominated the next two days. What I’m happy about is that I could carry the momentum gained in the preseason and I’ve felt better each time I’ve jumped on the bike.

“It’s very positive to be in the top ten and the only disappointment is that I was a little bit tense on the bike in the first part of the race and I was squeezing the handlebars too much and it had a bit of an impact on the transition from brake to throttle. Apart from that it was a very positive finish. It’s a result both myself and the team can build on and I want to thank my guys because they gave me a really competitive package this weekend.”

On the other side of the Marc VDS garage, teammate Tito Rabat was happy to come home in the points as he continues his slow recovery from injuries sustained at the opening test of 2017 in Malaysia back in February.

“It is good feeling to score a point here in difficult conditions but also after a tough preseason with my injuries. This can be a tricky circuit in any conditions but I was happy with my start and had a good pace but then mid-race two Ducatis, Barbera and Abraham, came past and it was difficult to fight with them. I learnt a lot this weekend with my team, especially that I need to be more confident to open the gas.”

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