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Tonight is a big night for Jack Miller as he tries to become the first Australian rider to win a 125cc or Moto 3 championship in the last 43 years of racing. Join The Roar for a live blog, and commentary, of the final round of the Moto GP championship from Valencia from 8:45pm (AEDT).
In the last 27 years, Australia has dominated the Premier Class of motorcycle racing, winning 8 championships with three different riders.
In the lower classes though – 125cc/Moto 3 & 250cc/Moto 2 – Australia has struggled to find championship winning riders.
The closest anyone has gone to winning a championship in these two categories was the great Casey Stoner.
In 2004 he finished 5th in the 125cc title race before finishing second – behind Dani Pedrosa – in 2005 in the 250cc championship.
To find the last winner from Australia, in each lower class, you have to go back to the 1960’s.
In 1969 Kel Carruthers won the 250cc championship with the New South Welshman the only Australian to win the title in the 250cc/Moto 2 class.
In 1961 Tom Phillis won the 125cc championship with the Sydneysider beating some of the greats of the sport to land the title.
43 years on it is the last success Australia has had in the lowest category of premier motorcycle racing.
Miller has the chance to break that drought tonight and land his name in the record books.
2014 has been an incredible year for the Australian. Five wins, nine podiums and eight pole positions has put the Australian in the spotlight of motorcycle racing. He has been rewarded with a seat in the Moto GP for 2015 with the LCR squad.
Tonight is his last race in the Moto 3 class for the foreseeable future.
When you consider that the first race of the year – Qatar – was his first win and podium in the category, it shows just how far the Queenslander has gone this year. Tonight he could be the Moto 3 World Champion.
Before the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island, two rounds ago, that looked unlikely. Down by 25 points in the championship to Alex Marquez, Miller had to start clawing points back, to remain in the hunt.
He did that at Australia by winning the race in front of his home crowd. He backed it up in Malaysia by finishing second with Marquez finishing in 5th.
Now the gap is 11 points between the two heading into Valencia. While the championship is still in the favour of Marquez, it does give the Australian a better chance than two rounds ago.
Australia turned around his season and he now has the confidence and attitude that gave him the results he had at the start of the season.
That has started to rattle Marquez and the Spaniard has become nervous by Miller’s presence in the last two rounds.
In qualifying last night, the two couldn’t be separated, with Miller qualifying second and Marquez third for the race.
Little known Italian, Niccolo Antonelli, stole the show by claiming his first ever pole position for the race.
For Miller to win the championship tonight, he has to beat Marquez by more than 12 points.
Here are the scenarios to watch out for tonight:
– If Miller wins the race, and Marquez finishes 4th, the Aussie wins the title.
– If Miller finishes second, and Marquez finishes 8th, the Aussie wins the title.
– If Miller finishes third, and Marquez finishes 12th, the Aussie wins the title.
– If Miller finishes fourth, and Marquez finishes 15th, the Aussie wins the title.
– If Miller finishes fifth or worse, or Marquez finishes third or higher, Marquez wins the title.
So can Miller win the championship?
He certainly can but things would need to go his way. Valencia is a track where the unexpected can and will happen.
Marquez also hasn’t had the best results in Valencia. He finished 4th last year and retired in 2012. One thing in the Spaniards favour though is the home crowd.
Similar to Australia for Miller, Marquez will have the home support of the crowd. That could help him a lot tonight.
It promises to be a big battle between the two riders and the championship could go down to the final lap.
Hopefully for Australia, and Miller, it all ends up in his favour.
This race isn’t the only one tonight with the Moto 2 and Moto GP championship also finishing tonight.
Both championships have been won with Esteve Rabat (Moto 2) and Marc Marquez (Moto GP) winning the titles in previous rounds.
This should create great racing in both categories as riders go for broke to try to win tonight. In the Moto 2, Rabat secured pole for the race, with Johann Zarco and Franco Morbidelli in third.
In the Moto GP, Valentino Rossi secured his first pole since the Le Mans Grand Prix in 2010. Andrea Iannone was second for Pramac Racing with Dani Pedrosa third for Repsol Honda.
This weekend also marks the return of Suzuki to the Moto GP field after leaving in 2011.
They officially return with two bikes in 2015 but will compete this weekend in a wildcard entry.
Everyone will be watching them with interest this weekend to see how competitive they are.
Tonight could be a big night of racing. Join The Roar as we live blog the final three races of the year.
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