Jack Miller stormed to his first victory of the season and Francesco Bagnaia’s MotoGP title hopes suffered a blow when he crashed on the last lap of the Grand Prix of Japan.
Ducati rider Miller dominated a dramatic race on a dry Sunday in Motegi to the chequered flag, with Brad Binder second and Jorge Martin edging out Marc Marquez to take his place on the podium.
Fabio Quartararo could only finish eighth, but it proved to be a good day for the championship leader as title rival Bagnaia ended up in the gravel when he tried to pass the Frenchman from ninth place.
That costly mistake left Quartararo leading by 18 points with four rounds to go, with third-placed Aleix Espargaro having endured the nightmare of starting from the pits rather than six place as he had to change his bike before the start due to technical issue and finished way back in 16th.
🔝 @jackmilleraus rises in the Land of The Rising Sun!
The @ducaticorse rider takes his 4th premier-class win 🏆#JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/PR4FVoA0rj
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 25, 2022
Marquez claimed his first pole for three years on a wet Saturday, but it was Binder who got off to a dream start as he bolted from third on the grid to hit the front.
Martin then passed Binder, but Miller took the lead with 22 laps to go and never looked like losing it in a brilliant ride from the Australian.
There was a yellow flag after Takuya Tsuda retired with his bike on fire in his homeland and Marquez was scenting a 100th podium in the premier class in his 150th race when he moved ahead of Miguel Oliveira into fourth place.
Binder then passed Martin late on to take second before Bagnaia paid the price for pushing a little too hard on the last lap, missing out on points in a stunning finale.
Miller, who started in seventh spot, eased to his fourth MotoGP victory and eight-time world champion Marquez had to settle for an impressive fourth spot in his second race back following a fourth operation on his right arm.
TOP 10
1. Jack Miller (Ducati) 42:29.174
2. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) +3.409
3. Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) +4.136
4. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) +6.379
5. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM) +8.185
6. Luca Marini (VR46 Racing Team) +8.348
7. Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) +9.879
8. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) +10.193
9. Enea Bastianini (Gresini) +10.318
10. Marco Bezzecchi (VR46 Racing Team) +16.419
Source: Livescore