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Miller strengthens his case as Bezzechi wins British GP

Miller strengthens his case as Bezzechi wins British GP

The Advertiser25-05-2025
Having returned to Yamaha at the start of the season, Australian Jack Miller's avowed intention is to stay with the team beyond the end of the year and he did much to strengthen his cause at a chaotic British MotoGP at Silverstone.
Amid the all crashes and restarts, the Townsville-born racer steered himself to seventh place, having at one point been challenging for the lead.
The race was won by Aprilia's Marco Bezzechi, his team's first victory of the season in a race that was initially red-flagged for an oil spill and later saw riders crashing or retiring while in the lead, including Fabio Quartararo.
Miller, who previously rode for Yamaha between 2018-20, has already said he would "love to keep going" with the Prima Pramac Racing team beyond 2025.
But after claiming a top-five finish in the first three Grand Prix, he had hit a dip in form.
The 30-year-old did not finish any of the last three races and most recently crashed out of the lead of the French Grand Prix. That pushed him down to 17th in the standings.
But third place in Friday's practice at Silverstone, followed by sixth in qualifying 24 hours later, pointed at a recovery, and Sunday's battling display moved him up a place to 16th.
That came hours after he received the boost of being named as a Yamaha rider for the Suzuka 8 Hours race. It will be the first time Yamaha have fielded an official team at the iconic endurance event since 2019.
"It's obviously a massive honour for me to be able to represent Yamaha at the Suzuka 8 Hours this year," Miller said. "It's a race I've been wanting to go back to since 2017 when I finished fourth (with Honda), losing to Yamaha that time."
Back at Silverstone, LCR Honda's Johann Zarco chased Bezzechi to the chequered flag and Ducati's Marc Marquez pipped Franco Morbidelli to finish third and extend his lead in the world championship.
Both Alex Marquez and his brother Marc crashed while leading before the race was restarted for an oil spill while polesitter Quartararo took the lead at the second time of asking before being forced to retire due to an issue with his bike.
Bezzecchi's victory was his first since the 2023 Indian Grand Prix and the Italian also became the 11th different winner at Silverstone in the last 11 races.
"It's amazing. It has been a really tough time for me in this past month. Aprilia trusted in me and we worked really hard," Bezzecchi said.
"The team made a wonderful job... I was waiting for a day like this since my last win."
Having returned to Yamaha at the start of the season, Australian Jack Miller's avowed intention is to stay with the team beyond the end of the year and he did much to strengthen his cause at a chaotic British MotoGP at Silverstone.
Amid the all crashes and restarts, the Townsville-born racer steered himself to seventh place, having at one point been challenging for the lead.
The race was won by Aprilia's Marco Bezzechi, his team's first victory of the season in a race that was initially red-flagged for an oil spill and later saw riders crashing or retiring while in the lead, including Fabio Quartararo.
Miller, who previously rode for Yamaha between 2018-20, has already said he would "love to keep going" with the Prima Pramac Racing team beyond 2025.
But after claiming a top-five finish in the first three Grand Prix, he had hit a dip in form.
The 30-year-old did not finish any of the last three races and most recently crashed out of the lead of the French Grand Prix. That pushed him down to 17th in the standings.
But third place in Friday's practice at Silverstone, followed by sixth in qualifying 24 hours later, pointed at a recovery, and Sunday's battling display moved him up a place to 16th.
That came hours after he received the boost of being named as a Yamaha rider for the Suzuka 8 Hours race. It will be the first time Yamaha have fielded an official team at the iconic endurance event since 2019.
"It's obviously a massive honour for me to be able to represent Yamaha at the Suzuka 8 Hours this year," Miller said. "It's a race I've been wanting to go back to since 2017 when I finished fourth (with Honda), losing to Yamaha that time."
Back at Silverstone, LCR Honda's Johann Zarco chased Bezzechi to the chequered flag and Ducati's Marc Marquez pipped Franco Morbidelli to finish third and extend his lead in the world championship.
Both Alex Marquez and his brother Marc crashed while leading before the race was restarted for an oil spill while polesitter Quartararo took the lead at the second time of asking before being forced to retire due to an issue with his bike.
Bezzecchi's victory was his first since the 2023 Indian Grand Prix and the Italian also became the 11th different winner at Silverstone in the last 11 races.
"It's amazing. It has been a really tough time for me in this past month. Aprilia trusted in me and we worked really hard," Bezzecchi said.
"The team made a wonderful job... I was waiting for a day like this since my last win."
Having returned to Yamaha at the start of the season, Australian Jack Miller's avowed intention is to stay with the team beyond the end of the year and he did much to strengthen his cause at a chaotic British MotoGP at Silverstone.
Amid the all crashes and restarts, the Townsville-born racer steered himself to seventh place, having at one point been challenging for the lead.
The race was won by Aprilia's Marco Bezzechi, his team's first victory of the season in a race that was initially red-flagged for an oil spill and later saw riders crashing or retiring while in the lead, including Fabio Quartararo.
Miller, who previously rode for Yamaha between 2018-20, has already said he would "love to keep going" with the Prima Pramac Racing team beyond 2025.
But after claiming a top-five finish in the first three Grand Prix, he had hit a dip in form.
The 30-year-old did not finish any of the last three races and most recently crashed out of the lead of the French Grand Prix. That pushed him down to 17th in the standings.
But third place in Friday's practice at Silverstone, followed by sixth in qualifying 24 hours later, pointed at a recovery, and Sunday's battling display moved him up a place to 16th.
That came hours after he received the boost of being named as a Yamaha rider for the Suzuka 8 Hours race. It will be the first time Yamaha have fielded an official team at the iconic endurance event since 2019.
"It's obviously a massive honour for me to be able to represent Yamaha at the Suzuka 8 Hours this year," Miller said. "It's a race I've been wanting to go back to since 2017 when I finished fourth (with Honda), losing to Yamaha that time."
Back at Silverstone, LCR Honda's Johann Zarco chased Bezzechi to the chequered flag and Ducati's Marc Marquez pipped Franco Morbidelli to finish third and extend his lead in the world championship.
Both Alex Marquez and his brother Marc crashed while leading before the race was restarted for an oil spill while polesitter Quartararo took the lead at the second time of asking before being forced to retire due to an issue with his bike.
Bezzecchi's victory was his first since the 2023 Indian Grand Prix and the Italian also became the 11th different winner at Silverstone in the last 11 races.
"It's amazing. It has been a really tough time for me in this past month. Aprilia trusted in me and we worked really hard," Bezzecchi said.
"The team made a wonderful job... I was waiting for a day like this since my last win."
Having returned to Yamaha at the start of the season, Australian Jack Miller's avowed intention is to stay with the team beyond the end of the year and he did much to strengthen his cause at a chaotic British MotoGP at Silverstone.
Amid the all crashes and restarts, the Townsville-born racer steered himself to seventh place, having at one point been challenging for the lead.
The race was won by Aprilia's Marco Bezzechi, his team's first victory of the season in a race that was initially red-flagged for an oil spill and later saw riders crashing or retiring while in the lead, including Fabio Quartararo.
Miller, who previously rode for Yamaha between 2018-20, has already said he would "love to keep going" with the Prima Pramac Racing team beyond 2025.
But after claiming a top-five finish in the first three Grand Prix, he had hit a dip in form.
The 30-year-old did not finish any of the last three races and most recently crashed out of the lead of the French Grand Prix. That pushed him down to 17th in the standings.
But third place in Friday's practice at Silverstone, followed by sixth in qualifying 24 hours later, pointed at a recovery, and Sunday's battling display moved him up a place to 16th.
That came hours after he received the boost of being named as a Yamaha rider for the Suzuka 8 Hours race. It will be the first time Yamaha have fielded an official team at the iconic endurance event since 2019.
"It's obviously a massive honour for me to be able to represent Yamaha at the Suzuka 8 Hours this year," Miller said. "It's a race I've been wanting to go back to since 2017 when I finished fourth (with Honda), losing to Yamaha that time."
Back at Silverstone, LCR Honda's Johann Zarco chased Bezzechi to the chequered flag and Ducati's Marc Marquez pipped Franco Morbidelli to finish third and extend his lead in the world championship.
Both Alex Marquez and his brother Marc crashed while leading before the race was restarted for an oil spill while polesitter Quartararo took the lead at the second time of asking before being forced to retire due to an issue with his bike.
Bezzecchi's victory was his first since the 2023 Indian Grand Prix and the Italian also became the 11th different winner at Silverstone in the last 11 races.
"It's amazing. It has been a really tough time for me in this past month. Aprilia trusted in me and we worked really hard," Bezzecchi said.
"The team made a wonderful job... I was waiting for a day like this since my last win."
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But the embattled Blues (7-11, 12th) eased pressure on coach Michael Voss with a much-needed win over Melbourne last round and have plenty to play for despite their lowly ladder position. Docherty, who has twice beaten testicular cancer, will play his 184th and final match in a celebrated career that has included three knee reconstructions, a best-and-fairest award and All-Australian selection. Carlton will be desperate to send him off in the right manner and also give vice-captain Jacob Weitering something to celebrate in his 200th game. "We've been dealt the cards of the villain for this one," Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell said. "The thing about Sam is it's beyond sport. He's got the three knee reconstructions and coming back from that and still being an All-Australian type player. "But then obviously his cancer treatments and coming back from that means it transcends sport. It's such an inspirational person that he's been. "We'll certainly be trying to ruin his party, but after that I certainly think he's one of the players of this season that needs to be celebrated." Hawthorn have beaten Carlton in their last two meetings, but Mitchell is wary, noting the Blues are the highest-scoring team in first quarters this season. "You can see that they're more than capable and they're going to be playing for a bit with Docherty and a 200th game as well," Mitchell said. "They're going to have a fair bit on, so you'd expect them to come out with a lot of energy and vibrancy." Hawthorn sit two games clear of ninth but face a tough run home, against finals-bound Adelaide, Collingwood and the Brisbane Lions in the last month of the home-and-away campaign. "Every game is as good as a final," Mitchell said. "We understand where we sit and we need to make sure we're very focused on getting the best outcome we can." The Hawks will be bolstered by the return of young gun Will Day from a foot injury when they play their first game at the MCG since May. Mitch Lewis has recovered well after his comeback match last week and will back up, but teammate Finn Maginness has been ruled out for the rest of the season because of a lacerated kidney. Carlton key forward Harry McKay returns for his first game since round 11 after recovering from minor knee surgery, while Blake Acres has been recalled. Francis Evans and Flynn Young are both out injured. Hawthorn have accepted the role of "villains" as they set out to boost their AFL finals hopes in Carlton hero Sam Docherty's farewell match. Fresh off a win over Port Adelaide, the fifth-placed Hawks (12-6) enter Thursday night's MCG contest as warm favourites intent on locking in a top-eight spot. But the embattled Blues (7-11, 12th) eased pressure on coach Michael Voss with a much-needed win over Melbourne last round and have plenty to play for despite their lowly ladder position. Docherty, who has twice beaten testicular cancer, will play his 184th and final match in a celebrated career that has included three knee reconstructions, a best-and-fairest award and All-Australian selection. Carlton will be desperate to send him off in the right manner and also give vice-captain Jacob Weitering something to celebrate in his 200th game. "We've been dealt the cards of the villain for this one," Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell said. "The thing about Sam is it's beyond sport. He's got the three knee reconstructions and coming back from that and still being an All-Australian type player. "But then obviously his cancer treatments and coming back from that means it transcends sport. It's such an inspirational person that he's been. "We'll certainly be trying to ruin his party, but after that I certainly think he's one of the players of this season that needs to be celebrated." Hawthorn have beaten Carlton in their last two meetings, but Mitchell is wary, noting the Blues are the highest-scoring team in first quarters this season. "You can see that they're more than capable and they're going to be playing for a bit with Docherty and a 200th game as well," Mitchell said. "They're going to have a fair bit on, so you'd expect them to come out with a lot of energy and vibrancy." Hawthorn sit two games clear of ninth but face a tough run home, against finals-bound Adelaide, Collingwood and the Brisbane Lions in the last month of the home-and-away campaign. "Every game is as good as a final," Mitchell said. "We understand where we sit and we need to make sure we're very focused on getting the best outcome we can." The Hawks will be bolstered by the return of young gun Will Day from a foot injury when they play their first game at the MCG since May. Mitch Lewis has recovered well after his comeback match last week and will back up, but teammate Finn Maginness has been ruled out for the rest of the season because of a lacerated kidney. Carlton key forward Harry McKay returns for his first game since round 11 after recovering from minor knee surgery, while Blake Acres has been recalled. Francis Evans and Flynn Young are both out injured.

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