Spanish MotoGP: Miller charges to Jerez victory after Quartararo hits trouble

Miller last won a MotoGP race in a wet 2016 Dutch TT and has endured a wretched start to life as a factory Ducati rider so far in 2021, but profited from late issues for Quartararo to lead a Ducati 1-2 at Jerez.

Miller used the power of the Ducati to jump Quartararo off the line, with the Frenchman dropping to fourth behind Franco Morbidelli and Francesco Bagnaia.

Quartararo dispatched of Bagnaia at the end of lap two for third and demoted former Petronas SRT team-mate Morbidelli at the same place on the following tour.

The factory Yamaha rider took the lead away from Miller at the final corner one lap later and began to stretch his legs in clean air.

By lap eight Quartararo was close to a second clear and would build his advantage to over 1.5s over the ensuing laps.

Miller’s pace was strong, but he could do nothing to reel in Quartararo, who looked well on course to score his third-straight victory in 2021.

Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

However, on lap 14 Quartararo’s gap was cut from 1.5s to eight tenths and continued to be decimated as the Yamaha rider was struck by a mystery issue.

This left him powerless to stop Miller from coming into the lead at the first corner on lap 16, with Bagnaia pushing Quartararo back to third two tours later.

As Miller moved into a lead of over 1.5s, Quartararo plummeted down the order as he was mercilessly picked off by those around him.

Starting the penultimate lap, Miller’s lead stood at just over a second as his Ducati team-mate Bagnaia ate into his advantage.

Miller responded over the final lap and a half, though, building his lead back up to over a second to hold onto his first win as a Ducati rider and his first since 2016.

Bagnaia stayed mounted to complete a Ducati 1-2 at Jerez, while Morbidelli found himself on the final step of the podium as comfortably the top Yamaha rider on a two-year-old M1.

Takaaki Nakagami leaped up to fourth late in the race on his LCR Honda ahead of world champion Joan Mir on the Suzuki, while Aleix Espargaro’s early podium charge ultimately ended in sixth on the Aprilia.

Maverick Vinales was seventh on his factory Yamaha ahead of Pramac’s Johann Zarco and the works Honda duo of Marc Marquez and Pol Espargaro.

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Miguel Oliveira was top KTM rider at the chequered flag in 11th ahead of HRC wildcard Stefan Bradl and the fading Quartararo, with the final points taken by Tech3 pair Danilo Petrucci and Iker Lecuona.

Brad Binder (KTM) crashed twice on Sunday afternoon, joining Avintia’s Enea Bastianini and LCR’s Alex Marquez on the sidelines – while Suzuki’s Alex Rins was 20th after an early fall.

Bagnaia now leads the MotoGP standings by two points from Quartararo, with Vinales a further 16 points adrift in third.

MotoGP Spanish Grand Prix Result - 25 laps

Cla	Rider	Bike	Gap
1	Jack Miller	Ducati
2	Francesco Bagnaia	Ducati	1.912
3	Franco Morbidelli	Yamaha	2.516
4	Takaaki Nakagami	Honda	3.206
5	Joan Mir	Suzuki	4.256
6	Aleix Espargaro	Aprilia	5.164
7	Maverick Viñales	Yamaha	5.651
8	Johann Zarco	Ducati	7.161
9	Marc Marquez	Honda	10.494
10	Pol Espargaro	Honda	11.776
11	Miguel Oliveira	KTM	14.766
12	Stefan Bradl	Honda	17.243
13	Fabio Quartararo	Yamaha	18.907
14	Danilo Petrucci	KTM	20.095
15	Iker Lecuona	KTM	20.277
16	Luca Marini	Ducati	20.922
17	Valentino Rossi	Yamaha	22.731
18	Tito Rabat	Ducati	30.314
19	Lorenzo Savadori	Aprilia	37.912
20	Alex Rins	Suzuki	38.234
	Brad Binder	KTM
	Enea Bastianini	Ducati
	Alex Marquez	Honda
View full results