Miller battles Moto3 field to finish 8th

Australian Moto3 title hopeful Jack Miller has endured a dirty day in qualifying and will start eighth in the Australian Grand Prix.

Moto3 championship leader Alex Marquez showed his class to qualify on pole for Sunday’s race, as Miller struggled for free space on the track.

With as little as two minutes remaining in qualifying, Miller sat 13th in the order but moved up the grid with a last gasp effort.

Miller appeared to have one final shot to improve his grid position but bailed from a final fast lap, showing his frustration by gesturing wildly at other riders.

Marquez looked a likely pole-sitter throughout qualifying, setting the pace with an early lap record of 1:36.387 before improving to 1:36.050.

The qualifying session resembled the early stages of a race at times with more than a dozen riders jostling for track position.

While Miller seemed constantly in the middle of the pack, unable to show his true pace, others broke free to overtake the Australian.

Last year’s Australian Moto3 winner Alex Rins will accompany Marquez on the front row, with Juanfran Guevara third.

Remy Gardner, son of former world champion Wayne Gardner, improved his time again and will start 24th.

Fellow Australian wildcard rider Olly Simpson qualified 33rd of 34 riders.

The battle between Marquez and Miller is one of the biggest talking points of the weekend at Phillip Island, with just 25 points separating the pair in the championship.

But the 19-year-old Queenslander did his hopes of catching Marquez no favours by starting well back on the grid.

Marquez told Speed TV after qualifying he had eyes only for the race win, not the championship win.

“Today we had a really good rhythm, we made really good laps… we need to try to win this race,” he said.

Miller’s fellow KTM rider Niklas Ajo had a high-speed crash off Doohan corner, requiring a trip to the medical centre and sending his bike for major work.

Brazilian Eric Granado, who broke a finger earlier in practice, needed a stretcher to leave the track after a nasty crash.

Stay up to date with the latest sports news
Follow our social accounts to get exclusive content and all the latest sporting news!