Marco Bezzecchi
Jack Miller has been praised for his leadership at Yamaha at the start of the 2026 MotoGP season. Pramac boss Gino Borsoi says he’s like a brand-new rider.
This is year two of Miller’s second stint with the Pramac team, but he may struggle to replicate his 2025 haul of 79 points. Yamaha’s switch to a V4 engine has seen the team regress, though they hope this is only temporary as they pursue long-term gains.
Miller has a new teammate for 2026 after seeing off competition from Miguel Oliveira to keep his seat. Three-time World Superbikes champion Toprak Razgatlioglu has made the move to MotoGP at 29.
Predict the order of the Yamaha riders in the 2026 MotoGP standings
During testing, Razgatlioglu followed Miller on track to study his riding style. The Australian is making his 200th premier-class start at the Thailand Grand Prix this weekend.
Gino Borsoi praises Jack Miller’s leadership at Yamaha
During Friday’s practice sessions, Pramac team manager Borsoi was asked about the help Miller had given Razgatlioglu. He praised the co-operation between his two riders.
But Miller’s role extends beyond that. His contribution to Yamaha’s development and his willingness to embrace the ‘long journey’ ahead have been applauded.
Somewhat cynically, TNT Sports pundit Neil Hodgson says Miller is toeing the ‘corporate line’ in order to keep his ride. His contract expires at the end of the season and there is no indication of interest from elsewhere.
What do you expect from Jack Miller at Pramac in 2026?
“Not on the role of Toprak, on the role of Yamaha actually,” Borsoi said. “He did a really good job during the tests. I’m so happy because he’s really strong this season. He’s another Jack Miller, Jack Miller 2.0, I can say.
“The other good thing is that they are really good teammates. The atmosphere inside the garage is nice. They work together in a really good way, so this is good for us and for Yamaha. I hope we can keep it like this.
“He understood exactly what we have to do. We have a long journey in front of us.”
Jack Miller reacts to difficult Sprint race at Thailand Grand Prix
Miller qualified 18th in Thailand, a disappointing result on the surface but a good performance relative to his Yamaha peers. He was only a tenth and a half slower than Fabio Quartararo, and he outpaced both Alex Rins and Razgatlioglu.
He then passed Quartararo in the Sprint to lead the Yamaha contingent in 15th. Razgatlioglu suffered his first crash but put this down to a technical problem.
Miller finished around 6.5 seconds outside the points (awarded to the top nine) after the 13-lap race. The 32-year-old acknowledges that a power deficit is holding the M1 back.
He wrote on X: “P15. Felt alright out there. Put the head down, logged laps and kept pushing.
“The straights are still hurting us, no secret there. First race weekend on a brand new bike… we’re learning fast. Not where we want to be yet but we’re building it right.”
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