Bikesportnz

Australian Jack Miller took MotoGP victory at the Grand Prix of France in Le Mans, the second consecutive success for the Ducati man, and just 16 points now cover the top four championship positions.

In fact, it was double celebration time for the Ducati men, with French rider Johann Zarco finishing runner-up for the Ducati Desmosedici GP of the Pramac Racing Team.

Just two weeks after the extraordinary success taken at Jerez de la Frontera, Miller scored another sensational victory at the Bugatti Circuit of Le Mans.

He dominated a tough race that saw riders dealing with a bike swap following the “flag-to-flag” rule.

As they started with dry conditions, the sky became soon clouded, and after only a few laps, it started pouring rain.

On lap five, Miller, who was in fourth place after going straight into the gravel, returned to the pits to make the bike change but managing to rejoin in third place. However, the Ducati Lenovo Team rider had to serve a double long lap penalty for exceeding 60km/h in the pit lane.

Miller remained third and, at lap 12, after Spanish world champion Marc Márquez (Honda) crashed out, he overtook French Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo, taking the lead where he stayed until the chequered flag, securing his second consecutive win this season.

Behind him, home hero Zarco finished second.

Excellent performance also for Italian Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), fourth at the finish line in a comeback for him after starting 16th on the grid.

Bagnaia rider had dropped back into 19th place on the first lap but, after the bike swap, he was able to rejoin in 11th position. Forced to take a double long lap penalty as well, Bagnaia didn’t lose concentration. Thanks to a steady pace, he could catch up with his rivals, passing them to reach fourth place.

“Winning two races in a row is a dream for me, especially after such a difficult race where I even had to take a double long lap and ended up in the gravel,” said Miller afterwards.

“So to be able to get this result is really extraordinary! The race was really long and tough mentally. I tried to keep my concentration and kept telling myself to stay calm. In this way, I managed the tyres well and saved them until the end, managing the advantage over Johann, who was getting very close towards the end. It was really a fantastic victory!”

The riders will be back on track from May 28-30 for the Italian GP at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello.

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