Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider Jack Miller completed the first half of the MotoGP season with a points scoring finish in today’s German Grand Prix.

Miller finished 15th in cool but dry conditions at the Sachsenring after a late race contest with British rider Bradley Smith.

With its constant sequence of curves the tight and twisty 3.6km Sachsenring made the 30-lap race a test of patience for Miller who struggled with rear tyre performance.

Miller started 13th and moved to 12th on the opening lap but almost immediately found that he could not back-up his pre-race confidence based on a strong rhythm in practice sessions.

The Australian did not have the pace to challenge for his desired top ten finish and after sliding back to 16th place he recovered to secure the final points scoring position.

From the rear of the grid Spaniard Tito Rabat never gave up in his bid to finish in the points but eventually finished 18th after suffering similar rear tyre issues as Miller.

Despite backing off and adjusting his engine settings Rabat climbed from his rear of the grid starting spot to gain six positions after riding a cautious race.

A near capacity crowd of 77,000 was in attendance for the ninth round of the MotoGP World Championship which now takes a month long break before returning for the Czech Grand Prix in August.

Jack Miller: 15th
“The front tyre was fine for the race distance but the rear was a different matter, it just didn’t work the way I expected it to after practice. The tyre was spinning on both sides from the start and three laps into the race it felt like it had already done the 30-lap race distance. And with so many left hand turns with 10 laps to go I was pretty much out of grip, it was a strange feeling. I was expecting a really strong race here so this is a disappointing result but I go to the summer break determined to return with a strong finish to the season.”

Tito Rabat: 18th
“It was strange because we tested the same tyre in FP3 and it worked fine but after four or five laps in the race it was completely finished and I had to be so careful opening the gas, it was dangerous and easy to crash. So I just tried to finish the race by changing the engine map, which helped a lot, but I was still forced to ride slower than I wanted to, it was strange. Now I am looking forward to a good summer break and coming back stronger in Brno.”

Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“This was a really disappointing race for both Jack and Tito considering the pace they showed in practice in similar conditions. They were capable of challenging for much better positions. The problem for both riders was that after three to five laps there was no rear grip and it was impossible to keep the pace of riders they could have been in front of. This made the final race day before the summer break quite difficult for us.”