Australian Jack Miller shaved two days off Rossi’s crash-to-race broken leg record, getting back out on his VDS Honda RC213V exactly 21 days after breaking his right tibia in a low-speed trials accident at his European base in Andorra.

The fracture was promptly plated and screwed, and Miller (22) opted out of the Japanese GP last weekend to give himself more time to recuperate for his home GP.

Miller, walking with no visible limp, admitted “I even surprised myself with the speed of the turnaround. I probably could have made it to Japan, but it wouldn’t have been good for this race and Malaysia, with the swelling.”

Unlike Rossi, he hadn’t ridden a bike before the race, except for a cheesy Dorna pre-race publicity stunt in Melbourne the day before; but he had tested his leg at home in Townsville on a quad bike, with no problems beyond “losing my phone”.

On the first day of free practice, he was on the charge and placed a strong sixth. His best qualifying hitherto this year was tenth.

Miller Australian MotoGP 2017

By Michael Scott