Miller clear to return for Aussie MotoGP

Local hope Jack Miller will return from a broken leg at this weekend's Australian MotoGP at Phillip Island.

MotoGP rider Jack Miller

Medical officials have cleared Jack Miller to be on the grid for this weekend's Australian MotoGP. (AAP)

Jack Miller will ride a motorbike for the first time in three weeks in Friday's first practice session for the Australian MotoGP at Phillip Island.

The 22-year-old had a plate and eight screws inserted into his right leg after he fractured it below the knee less than three weeks ago in a training accident.

The Queenslander missed last weekend's Japanese MotoGP at Motegi, but his impressive recovery was given the green light by race officials on Thursday.

"I sat on a bike at the pre-event (media conference) on Wednesday and that felt alright," Miller said with a wry smile.

"But I've got a lot of motion in my knee and I can push off it.

"It feels good ... I don't think the injury should worry me too much - it should be ok.

"I probably could have made it to Japan, but with the three races coming up ... we decided to focus on trying to finish the season as strongly as I can."

Miller, who will switch next year from Honda to Ducati, is in his third season in the top class, with his best result at Phillip Island a 10th-placed finish last year.

With three races left in the 2017 season, the Marc VDS rider is 13th in the championship standings with two sixth-placed finishes - at Assen and San Marino - his best results.

Factory Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso narrowed Repsol Honda star Marc Marquez's world championship lead to 11 points with a thrilling win in Japan.

The pair will almost certainly fight it out for the world title with third-placed Movistar Yamaha rider Maverick Vinales needing a huge dose of good fortune to challenge.

"We are in a very important moment (for the championship)," Marquez said.

"I've had some ups and downs here. I crashed leading the race last year with a few seconds advantage.

"We are fighting for the championship so the approach to the race is much different to last year.

"We will see if it's time to fight for the victory or time to think about the championship."

The world titles for support categories Moto2 and Moto3 are also still up for grabs heading into the weekend's races.


Share

3 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world