Marco Bezzecchi
Jack Miller has suffered throughout the 2025 MotoGP season but did just about enough to earn another year in the premier class.
He joined a Pramac team embarking on a new challenge with Yamaha, who have just been through a turbulent few seasons themselves. For 2026, they will welcome rookie and three-time World Superbike Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu to the fold, which presents a new challenge and dynamic for them.
Miller brings experience from three other manufacturers accumulated across his 10-year MotoGP career to date. His feedback is a great asset and should be handy as the V4 engine still requires a lot of development in its early stages.
Having spent some time on their bike this year, Miller knows where Yamaha must improve the V4 if they want to be competitive in the future. Miller sees a really important Razgatlioglu attribute that should help them work well together – a critical ingredient for success.
READ MORE: Jack Miller laments the ‘warnings’ he saw from his Yamaha bike before Australian Grand Prix crash
Jack Miller’s longest podium drought in MotoGP shows his fans have suffered the most
Miller must improve in 2026 if he wants to remain in the premier class heading into the new regulations for 2027. He has finished inside the top 10 just four times, while factory rider Fabio Quartararo has done so 12 times.
There were some promising signs a few weeks ago as Miller qualified on the front row in Australia, his home race. It was about as fast as he has been all season, but he followed it up with another drab performance in Malaysia.
Of the current active riders, Miller has now faced a longer drought than any of his rivals since last appearing on the podium (55 races). The next closest behind him is teammate Miguel Oliveira (50).
In third is Alex Rins (44 races), meaning that the top three have all been on Yamaha machines this year. It suggests that they really need to improve, or risk losing superstar rider Fabio Quartararo in the long term.
Miller has ruled out management after retirement and doesn’t see any reason to morph into a new role when he’s no longer riding. He competes purely for the love of motorcycle racing and knows that he has more potential to deliver.
READ MORE: ‘Old school’ Jack Miller is doing something behind the scenes that’s absolutely ‘golden’ for Yamaha
Why Jack Miller is currently enduring a worrying MotoGP drought
Although Yamaha’s M1 bike is a big reason why their riders haven’t been able to achieve much this year, it started the season with so much promise.
At the pre-season test in Malaysia, it genuinely looked like the second-quickest bike behind the Ducati. A few weeks later, when it arrived in Thailand, the balance of power had shifted.
Miller has now gone eight races without a top 10 finish, and that’s something he’ll want to change during the final two events of the year in Portugal and Spain.
With Marc Marquez absent, there’s a greater opportunity to score a big result and build some vital momentum heading into 2026.
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