Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider Tito Rabat added to his world championship score card with a determined 14th place in today's sun-kissed Austrian Grand Prix.  

Showing growing confidence with his Honda RC213V after his best qualifying performance of the season, Rabat rode a controlled race before battling rear grip issues over the final laps. He finished just 0.8s behind Loris Baz in thirteenth.  

But it was a lone performance with Rabat's Australian teammate Jack Miller ruled unfit to race following a heavy crash at turn eight in the morning warm-up.  

Miller was diagnosed with a hairline fracture of the T6 vertebrae and a hairline fracture in the radius bone of his right wrist.   

The Australian was battered and bruised after the crash, his third of the weekend, and he was disappointed to be a spectator after showing impressive pace in practice.  

Miller will have an MRI scan in Brno on Wednesday and then an official medical check on Thursday to determine his fitness for next weekend's Czech Republic Grand Prix.  

A sell-out crowd of 95,000 attended the first motorcycle Grand Prix held in Austria since 1997.  

Tito Rabat:  14th 
“I am happy because we made a small but crucial step forward here with the set-up, which gave me more confidence. For much of the race I was on the pace with some very good riders including Pol Espargaro, Danilo Petrucci and Cal Crutchlow.  Over the final laps I lost some rear grip and that was difficult to manage. I went long on the brakes trying to stay ahead of Baz in the final laps and it was frustrating to lose that battle. Overall a positive weekend, I scored points, no problems with the front and did a good qualifying and race.”  

Jack Miller: DNS
“This is not the way I wanted to start the second half of the season but that's the way it is. It's a shame it didn't work out for me today but I'll keep giving it 100% and now I'm hoping to be fit to race in Brno next week, as I really like that track.  I banged my foot and that's a bit sore, as is my wrist and vertebrae with the small fractures but hopefully I can heal quickly.” 

Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“It is disappointing that Jack could not race today but we must think about the future and make sure he is fit and healthy.  It was another valuable two points for Tito and mid-race he was doing the pace of the guys fighting 11th, so with some more experience this is definitely his potential. We will do a medical check with Jack on Wednesday in Brno to assess his condition before deciding whether to submit him to an official medical assessment on Thursday at the circuit.”