Marco Bezzecchi
Jack Miller thought his MotoGP career was over after KTM dropped the Australian last season, but the Pramac Yamaha rider is still fighting for a place on the grid past 2025.
The 30-year-old is one of just five pilots currently due to be out of contract at the end of the 2025 MotoGP season. He is even the only rider in the Yamaha camp without a deal for 2026, with factory pair Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins and Pramac partner Miguel Oliveira settled.
Pramac team manager Gino Borsoi can imagine Miller staying at the Tuscan team next term, having settled in smoothly since returning to the now-Yamaha satellite outfit. Miller rode for Pramac from 2018-20, before spending 2021-22 with Ducati and then 2023-24 with KTM.
KTM electing to promote Pedro Acosta forced the Townsville, Queensland native out of their rider line-up. It was also expected to kick him out of MotoGP, but Yamaha gave Miller a one-year ‘prove it’ contract after tempting Pramac to become their de facto second works entry.
Dorna CEO offers Jack Miller ‘protection’ to stay in MotoGP amid a World Superbikes offer from Honda
Yet Miller’s one-season factory Yamaha contract to ride with Pramac is currently leaving him in the same spot as a year ago with no guarantees for a future in MotoGP. But MOW reports that Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta is now offering Miller ‘protection’ to keep him in MotoGP.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Jack Miller from net worth to wife
Honda have offered Miller a contract to switch to World Superbikes in 2026 and help to take their production bike entry to greater heights. But Ezpeleta ‘above all’ is trying to ensure the Pramac rider can stay on a prototype bike, as he wants an Australian in MotoGP ‘at all costs’.
Miller may even stay at Pramac next season if he can deliver some ‘significant results’ on the Yamaha M1 this year. The 23-time MotoGP Grand Prix podium finisher also has an ‘excellent relationship’ with Pramac team director Paolo Campinoti, which might prove very beneficial.
What has Yamaha managing director Paolo Pavesio said about Jack Miller’s MotoGP future?
Yamaha managing director Paolo Pavesio is also not opposed to giving Miller a new contract to ride for Pramac in the 2026 MotoGP season. Pavesio has also confirmed that Yamaha will decide Miller’s future by the summer break, so he might have six rounds to convince them.
Pavesio told SPEEDWEEK at the French Grand Prix: “This was event number six. We’ll draw conclusions about what we have and what we want by the summer break. Any time before that would be too early for our current riders. It would be very unfair.”
READ MORE: Everything to know about Pramac from the MotoGP team’s riders to bike
MotoGP will break for the summer following the British, Aragon, Italian, Dutch, German and Czech Grands Prix. So, Miller could know if he has a future at Pramac Yamaha by the time he goes to Spielberg for the Austrian Grand Prix on August 15-17, with 10 rounds still left to go.
Miller might need to start scoring points again if he is to tempt Pramac and Yamaha to retain the Australian, though. He has not scored a point in the last three rounds in Qatar, Spain and France, after registering 19 points with P11 in Thailand, P13 in Argentina and P5 in America.
Miller was devastated after the French GP having started the race at Le Mans on wet tyres in the knowledge that rain was on the way. Yet he bungled a chance to record what could have been the Aussie’s fifth race win in MotoGP after a highside just as riders on slick tyres pitted.
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