Marco Bezzecchi
Jack Miller does not have a contract for 2026 like Miguel Oliveira, but they are both fighting for their Pramac futures now that Yamaha have signed Toprak Razgatlioglu.
Pramac served as a lifeline on the MotoGP grid for Miller this year after the Italian outfit left the Ducati stable to be the new satellite Yamaha squad. The Tuscan team also gave Oliveira a new home, as Pramac welcomed the Portuguese racer and Miller on works Yamaha deals.
Yet Yamaha only gave Miller a one-year contract to prove himself on their YZR-M1, whereas Oliveira got a two-year deal. But the latter remains on uneasy ground, as Yamaha included a release clause in Oliveira’s contract set on him being their worst rider in the 2025 standings.
The threat of being axed now looms large for Oliveira, as well, after Yamaha finally tempted Razgatlioglu to leave World Superbikes and join Pramac in the 2026 MotoGP season. He has signed a two-year factory Yamaha deal to grow with them ahead of the 850cc rules in 2027.
Yamaha would re-sign Jack Miller to partner Toprak Razgatlioglu at Pramac in 2026 ‘now’
Yamaha can release Oliveira if he is the worst-performing rider on the M1 come the summer break, which the 30-year-old currently is with six points to Fabio Quartararo on 61, Alex Rins on 32 and Miller on 31. Even test rider Augusto Fernandez has scored six points this season.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Jack Miller from net worth to wife
And if Yamaha had to decide now on who will be Razgatlioglu’s teammate at Pramac in 2026 ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix at the TT Circuit Assen, then Oliveira would be flung onto the MotoGP rider market with Miller kept on. There are three rounds before the summer break.
MotoGP’s lead world feed commentator and paddock insider Matt Birt has told Fox Sports Australia that Yamaha would re-sign Miller to race with Pramac in 2026 if their deadline to release Oliveira was ‘now’. The Iwata outfit admire the impact he has had beyond the track.
“Yamaha, if they had to make the decision now, they would take Jack,” Birt noted on the Pit Talk podcast. “Clearly, there are clauses in Oliveira’s contract which give the opportunity if Yamaha see fit to cut ties with him.
“Championship positions and points aside, there’s a lot more for Jack to offer Yamaha. He’s very much in the early part of his career [there], and we know he’s ridden for Honda, Ducati and KTM. So, he brings a broad spectrum of technical knowledge to the Yamaha project.
“Jack is a very safe pair of hands, he’s popular in the Pramac team and he has a close relationship with management there [in] Paolo Campinoti and Gino Borsoi. I think Yamaha will keep him, and go with Jack and Toprak.”
Jack Miller can go to the Dutch GP and the German GP without having to impress Yamaha
Miller and Oliveira might not have long left to wait to know who will partner Razgatlioglu in 2026, as Yamaha want to decide Pramac’s 2026 line-up before the summer break. Yamaha’s plan is even to decide which rider stays before the Czech Grand Prix weekend on July 18-20.
So, with Oliveira the favourite to leave Pramac, Birt’s belief that Yamaha would re-sign Miller if they had to decide now suggests the 30-year-old can head to the Dutch GP at Assen plus the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring on July 11-13 believing he only has to keep it tidy.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Miguel Oliveira from net worth to wife
The pressure is on Oliveira to change Yamaha’s mind, rather than Miller needing to deliver a final reminder of what he can offer on the M1 with Pramac at the Dutch GP and German GP. The Australian can simply go to Assen and the Sachsenring focusing on those races alone.
Team boss Borsoi has ruled out Pramac signing Manuel Gonzalez to partner Razgatlioglu, as well, to further ease the pressure on Miller. Borsoi does not currently think the 2025 Moto2 championship leader is ready to race in MotoGP in 2026, despite his four wins in nine races.
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