Miller on the prospect of rain at his final MotoGP event: “We’re an all-weather sport!”

12 seasons, 23 podium finishes, 4 of them on the top step: with Jack Miller’s move to the World Superbike Championship at the end of the 2026 season, MotoGP is losing one of its most colourful characters. This means that the current race weekend at Phillip Island is not only the circuit’s farewell event in the premier class, but also for ‘Jackass’.

Things got off to a perfect start for the local hero: in the first free practice session, he found himself in third place in a section of the timesheet where he had rarely featured recently – albeit with limited significance. In the one-hour timed session in the afternoon, the 31-year-old was still the best Yamaha M1 rider in 12th place, even though he missed out on direct qualification for Q2.

Two crashes: Why Miller ended up in the gravel

The low points were two crashes: “The crash in the first corner was unnecessary. I knew that the tarmac next to the ideal line was a bit bumpier than it was last year. The bike was a bit unstable and I wanted to see how I’d get through if I didn’t hit the ideal line exactly. When I rode over the bumps, I started to slide and went off.”

In the time trial, ‘Thriller Miller’ had another unwelcome encounter with the gravel trap: “The crash was strange. I rolled into the corner and the front wheel just gave way.” The fact that the rider with number 43 could have qualified directly for Q2 really niggled at him: “I’m not entirely satisfied. I know where I lost time, and that really annoys me.”

Miller isn’t keen on postponements

The weather forecast for the rest of the race weekend was also a topic of discussion. Rain is forecast for Saturday and Sunday, but this is no cause for concern for Jack Miller: “We’re here in the state of Melbourne. If it weren’t pouring with rain, I’d think we were somewhere else.”

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Accordingly, the former Moto3 World Championship runner-up isn’t convinced by rumours suggesting that individual sessions and races might be postponed: “We’re an all-weather sport, so we have to race whatever the weather.” In any case, bringing the Grand Prix forward to Saturday – as MotoGP did in Australia back in 2023 – isn’t realistic: “Just because it happened once doesn’t mean it’ll become a regular occurrence. I’ve only heard this as a rumour amongst us riders so far; not from race organisers or Dorna. I don’t think it’s even an option.”