In the opening round of the 2014 championship, Ozzie Jack Miller clinched his first career victory following a thrilling finish at the Moto3 Qatar Grand Prix held at Losail.
During the race in Qatar, Red Bull KTM Ajo rider Jack Miller engaged in an intense duel with Estrella Galicia’s Alex Marquez, ultimately emerging victorious to secure his inaugural Moto3 win.
The two racers broke away from the pack in the early laps at the desert circuit, frequently exchanging places until the group behind closed in during the latter part of the race.
On the dramatic final lap, Miller seized the opportunity when Marquez ran wide, creating a small gap that allowed him to achieve his first top podium finish.
This victory also marked a setback for Honda, which has been searching for a Moto3 win throughout the entire weekend, extending the manufacturer’s drought without a class victory since 2012.
Additionally, Miller became the first non-Spanish competitor to secure a Grand Prix win in any category since Scott Redding’s Moto2 success at Silverstone the previous year.
Marquez was in the race’s contention until the last lap when he made an error, causing him to drop to fourth; he later fought back to reclaim second place, finishing just 0.233 seconds behind Miller.
Erfen Vazquez capitalized on his experience, executing a perfectly timed slipstream maneuver to snatch third place for Racing Team Germany by the narrowest of margins from Miguel Olivera.
In the contest amongst Mahindra riders, Olivera emerged as the best performer, trailing the Honda/KTM contenders, while Alex Rins, the fastest in practice, came in fifth after recovering from a poor start.
Starting from pole position, Rins initially fell to 12th on the first lap but staged a determined comeback.
Team Calvo’s Jakub Kornfeil crossed the line in sixth, just ahead of French competitor Alexis Masbou from Ongetta-Rivacold, with Kornfeil’s teammate Isaac Vinales taking eighth.
In a battle for Italian supremacy, Niccolo Antonelli from Go&Fun triumphed in ninth place, outperforming fellow countryman Francesco Bagnaia of Sky Racing Team VR46, who finished tenth.
Leading the British contingent, John McPhee finished 11th for Racing Team Germany, while Danny Kent placed 14th for Red Bull Husqvarna.
Points were also awarded to Team Sky’s Romano Fenati in 12th and rookie standout Karel Hanika, who finished 14th for Red Bull KTM Ajo, with Brad Binder securing the final point for Ambrogio Racing.
On the first lap, a collision occurred between Hafiq Azmi of SIC-AJO and Eric Granado from Team Calvo, while Team Italia’s Matteo Ferrari was also forced to retire following an incident during the opening lap.
Other riders who did not finish included Niklas Ajo and Juanfran Guevara, while Arthur Sissis from Mahindra could not participate in the race due to tonsillitis.
