The Ducati rider led at the beginning of the race at Le Mans before overtaking with two Yamaha works riders Maverick Vinales and Fabio Quartararo until he briefly pulled off the track when the rain began to fall.
After Miller – and Ducati teammate Francesco Bagnaia – pitted to switch to his wet bike, they both received double penalties for long laps for overspeeding in the pit lane. Meanwhile, Quartararo received a single long lap penalty for stopping on the wrong side of the Yamaha pit box while switching bikes.
Marc Marquez looked like a favorite to win the flag-to-flag race but crashed on lap nine before falling for a second time on lap 18 to end his race. Miller masterfully recovered to lead to victory.
Johann Zarco narrowly missed a home win at Le Mans in second place for Pramac Ducati as Quartararo also fought back to complete the podium and thereby regain the championship lead from Bagnaia, who finished fourth.
In the latest Tank Slappers podcast, Autosport’s Lewis Duncan and Motorsport.com’s Oriol Puigdemont discuss Miller’s Le Mans win and how he could spark a MotoGP World Championship challenge after his tough start to 2021.
The pair are also reviewing Zarco’s improvements despite missing a first MotoGP win, and how Quartararo’s performance could worry his title rivals.
PLUS: Why the most important MotoGP performance at Le Mans wasn’t Miller