IN
THE
WIND
P62
JACK MILLER'S
LUCKY ESCAPE
M
otoGP's Jack Miller, fastest after fitting slicks
on a drying track on day one at the French
MotoGP, was lucky to escape uninjured after run-
ning into the barrier at enormous speed in FP4—
bike and rider somersaulting violently after the
impact, and everyone was much relieved when
the Australian was able to stand up and limp away.
The bike, by contrast, was comprehensively
damaged.
It was a freak crash, in that the bike suddenly
turned right from a 190 mph left-hand sweeper,
and bucked across the pit access road into the
adjacent wall.
"I had some locking on the front through turn
one, which sent me towards the wall and when
I saw I wasn't going to stop in time, I let go," he
said. He suffered bruising to his right hand, and "a
football-size" swelling on his right knee.
"I'm not a religious sort of person," said the
candid Australian to Crash.net, after soldiering
on to finish eighth in the race. "But I think there
was definitely some help from an outside source.
Whoever put that mound of dirt, little grass strip
between the pit lane and track was a good bloke;
he saved my life. I felt my life flash before my eyes,
let's put it that way. That's as close as you get."
Michael Scott
GMT94 VICTORIOUS IN 8 HOURS OF OSCHERSLEBEN
A
fter winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in April,
GMT94 Yamaha secured victory at the 8 Hours
of Oschersleben, Germany, May 20-21, with riders
David Checa, Niccolò Canepa and Mike Di Meg-
lio, following an exciting duel with Yamaha Austria
Racing Team (YART) Broc Parkes, Kohta Nozana
and Marvin Fritz.
The two factory-backed Yamahas came in
ahead of private team Maco Racing Team (Greg
Junod, Marko Jerman and Anthony Dos Santos),
also on a Yamaha.
GMT94 Yamaha chalked up its third consecutive
EWC win in Germany, crossing the finish line less
than 31 seconds ahead of YART. The two factory-
backed R1 bikes, once again, staged a thrilling
duel throughout the race. GMT94 Yamaha ended
up the winner despite a stop-and-go for non-com-
pliance with the refueling procedure at the tail end
of the race. But the penalty galvanized Christophe
Guyot's riders, with David Checa setting a new lap
record of 1:26.814.
Fourth place went to Bolliger Team Switzerland
Kawasaki followed by F.C.C. TSR Honda in fifth. CN
Jack Miller was
very, very lucky
to get away with
this one.
GMT94 are on a roll now, notching up
their third straight win in the EWC.
