Jack Miller: “Alex Marquez turned in on me, we were hooked…”

Jack Miller’s Australian MotoGP was scuppered by contact with Alex Marquez.

KTM rider Miller was starting from 16th on the grid at his home grand prix and got off to an impressive start, reaching P8 briefly.

But a tangle at Doohan Corner with Gresini’s Alex Marquez cost him vital ground - he eventually came home in 11th.

“I got a mega jump from the inside,” Miller explained.

“I would have nearly been top six by Turn 1. I was on the kerb on the inside, following the kerb around.

"Alex turned in, over the top of me, we got hooked. Fortunately we were able to become unhooked once we got off the edge of the track.

"Rejoined in last position and started the race from there. I was able to pick off people and make my way into the top 10 for a bit.

"I was trying to do the best I could not to get over-excited and smoke the tyre, but still make up some ground wherever I could.

"A good race, decent pace. But it makes things difficult when you have a moment like that..."

Miller later added: “I fought my way back but with three [laps] to go, the front went and then you had to start relying on the rear to bring her round.

“I was doing what I could to battle with those boys but couldn’t do much more.

“The pace was decent but it would have been nice to have built on that start.”

Miller was, at least, able to avoid the local wildlife after his KTM struck a rabbit and a seagull on Saturday at Phillip Island.

Binder highest-placed non-Ducati

KTM teammate Binder didn’t finish Saturday’s sprint but claimed P7 in Sunday’s grand prix.

Binder started 11th and reached a high of P4. Finishing seventh keeps Binder fifth in the MotoGP championship, ahead of Tech3 GASGAS rider Pedro Acosta as the highest-placed non-Ducati.

“I tried my best from the beginning until the end,” Binder said.

“This morning we put in a different aero package for the dry conditions and the bike was turning a bit better.

“That was good and positive for the race and we could try to carry a bit more speed.

“I managed to stick with the boys for a while but when they dropped the pace at the end I couldn’t quite go with them.

“We learned a lot this weekend and we made another small step but obviously we need more to get closer.”

Team manager Francesco Guidotti said: “A step better than yesterday. Brad was just off the leading group and lost a bit of confidence with the rear tyre in the last two laps which stopped him fighting for that fourth place but it was a good race with a lot of overtaking and a strong pace also.

“Jack had a very good start but he ran into some traffic on the first corner.

“He recovered and managed to get near the top ten. He deserved more because his pace was better.”