JACK Miller did what he had to do and provided local fans with plenty of thrills on Saturday, putting himself on the front row of the grid for the start of the MotoGP Sprint for championship points, and going with in an ace of a podium finish.
Behind him on the grid was French hero Johann Zarco who recovered from a fall during morning qualifying to dust himself and his bike off to be back in the running.
“The conditions are the best I’ve seen here with no wind, everyone is so close, but if we can have a go, we will,” said Zarco who won his own home MotoGP at Le Mans in May this year.
Miller got away safely enough in superb weather and race conditions but found himself in fourth after several riders made kamikaze dives for the lead at Miller Corner.
Raúl Fernández on the Aprilia was the first to settle in the sprint and cleared out in the lead but on lap 6 Miller took over third and was delivering fast lap times at half race distance, with a cheer going up from the crowd as he passed Alex Márquez only to lose the place again on the next lap.
It was thrilling racing up at the front with Pedro Acosta coming up to take third on a Márquez mistake.
It left Miller chasing Acosta for a podium position as Marco Bezzecchi took over the lead on lap 10 of 13.
On lap 11 Miller was still holding down 4th but there seemed no way through Acosta with both riders maintaining good speed and Acosta noted as a very tough rider to pass.
The contest for third became a three-way go with Fabio Di Giannantonio chiming in but Miller held him off, despite a clear pace advantage, and made a last lunge on the final turn to overtake Acosta.
He got his nose in front but was shut out once more in the run to the line to fail by just six one-hundredths of second but still earning the loud plaudits of the crowd, living to fight another day.
The top 10 standings after the MotoGP Sprint Race at Phillip Island on Saturday, October 18, 2025, were as follows:
- 1st (72) M. Bezzecchi 19'03.971
- 2nd (25) R. Fernandez +3.149
- 3rd (37) P. Acosta +5.310
- 4th (43) J. Miller +5.376
- 5th (49) F. Di Giannantonio +5.416
- 6th (73) A. Marquez +6.109
- 7th (20) F. Quartararo +8.706
- 8th (10) L. Marini +8.938
- 9th (44) P. Espargaro +9.252
- 10th (23) E. Bastianini +9.752
