Miller Fights Back to 4th in Moto3 GP Catalunya, Still Leads Points
OutdoorHub 06.16.14
Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Jack Miller of Australia fought back hard in the final corners to claim a fourth place in the Moto3 GP of Catalunya. He finished just ahead of rival KTM rider Romano Fenati to still lead the championship after Rd. 7. It was the sixty-fifth anniversary edition of the World Championship.
Winner Alex Marquez of Spain delivered a decisive pole to finish win. Second place went to Italian teenager and KTM rider Eneo Bastianini to claim his first career podium. The former Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup competitor was competing in his only his seventh Grand Prix and ahs looked impressive throughout the weekend. Veteran Efren Vazquez of Spain was third.
Miller, a Red Bull athlete who started the race from the third row, the first time this season that he has not started on the front row, shuttled back and forth between places six and eight during most of the race. He managed to stay in contact with the group fighting it out for the minor podium places and in the last lap made a bid to gain some more points.
Miller had to finish in front of KTM rider Romano Fenati to hang onto the championship points lead and his late charge in the final corners saw him edge out the highly competitive Italian. Before Sunday’s race, Miller and Fenati had split the victories in all previous races with three wins each. Miller now leads the championship by seven points from Fenati. He was also handed another advantage when Spain’s Alex Rins, also a championship contender had a DNF after technical issues.
Miller said later he had experienced some chattering problems but was nevertheless happy to finish fourth and not concede too may points.
Miller: “Until the last lap I was confident that I could pass, but I didn’t think I could get up to fourth place, so I’m happy about that. We did a good job today, we continue to lead the World Cup and we have to think about Assen now, where I think we can do a better job.”
Red Bull KTM Ajo’s rookie Karel Hanika rode a solid race to finish fourteenth. Five of the top 10 riders were on KTM machines, registering another strong result for the RC 250GP bike and the Austrian manufacturer.
Hanika said he had made a good start but got pushed off in the first lap and lost touch with the lead group. “I had to fight in the second group, where there was a lot of overtaking, and I learned a lot from that. I had to work hard. I think I could have been first in that group, but on the last lap the tire was completely spent and I couldn’t overtake. Fourteenth is not the result I had been hoping for, but I learned a lot in this race.”
Aki Ajo: Red Bull KTM Ajo Team boss: “ We have to be happy because Jack (Miller) managed to score some very important points that allow him to continue leading the standings –even extending the advantage slightly. However, obviously you always have to consider the things that didn’t go so well and that prevented fighting for the win, which is ultimately our goal. Since yesterday afternoon he had had some chattering problems on some corners and we have to see how far we can go towards solving this with this riding style.”
Next round at Assen NL, on June 26, 2014. Find more at motogp.com.
Moto3 Results Rd. 7
1, Alex Marquez, ESP, Honda, 41:11.656
2, Enea Bastianini, ITA, KTM, 41:14.892
3, Efren Vasquez, ESP, Honda, 41:15.168
4, Jack Miller, AUS, KTM, 41:15.420
5, Romano Fenati, ITA, KTM, 41:15.518
6, Brad Binder, RSA, Mahindra, 41:15.704
7, Isaac Viñales, ESP, KTM, 41:15.787
8, Niklas Ajo, FIN, Husqvarna, 41:21.437
9, John McPhee, GBR, Honda, 41:30.234
10, Francesco Bagnaia, ITA, KTM, 41:30.253
Other KTM
14, Karel Hanika, CZE, KTM, 41:31.279¬
15, Jakub Kornfeil, CZE, KTM, 41:31.639
22, Gabriel Rodrigo, ARG, KTM, 41:47.888
23, Eric Granado, BRA, KTM, 41:47.956
DNF, Hafiq Azmi, MAL, KTM, 2:00.515
DNF, Niccolo Antonelli, ITA, KTM
Moto3 Standings after Round 7
1, Miller, 117
2, Fenati, 110
3, Vazquez, 92
4, Rins, 87
5, Marquez, 85
6, Viñales, 73
7, Masbou, 50
8, Bastianini, 45
9, Bagnaia, 42
10, Kornfeil, 38
Other KTM
18, Hanika, 16
21, Antonelli, 7
Moto3 Manufacturers Standings after Round 7
1, KTM, 170
2, Honda, 137
3, Husqvarna, 47
