Yamaha confirms Jack Miller for the World Superbike Championship: “The opportunity was too good to miss”

In MotoGP, there will be a generational change from the 2026 to the 2027 season, with no fewer than five of the current riders being replaced by riders who, in some cases, are significantly younger. From June onwards, two things were clear to Jack Miller (31): he would lose his place in the premier class and he wanted to continue racing at the highest level.

So he approached the factory teams in the World Superbike Championship – and initially shocked them with his salary demands. But Miller was quickly brought back down to earth; in the end, his only option was the Pata factory team run by his current employer, Yamaha. He’d been turned down by both BMW and Ducati.

Negotiations dragged on

Despite the close links between Yamaha’s MotoGP and World Superbike teams and their management, the negotiations were by no means a foregone conclusion; the contract was only signed last Sunday, as SPEEDWEEK.com discovered. Not everyone at Yamaha is convinced that Miller can perform better on the track than the dropped Spanish rider Xavier Vierge; from a marketing perspective, however, with his global fanbase and much better-known name, he is a clear asset. And ‘Jackass’ has regularly demonstrated his speed on a motorbike throughout his twelve years in MotoGP, winning four races, finishing on the podium 23 times and securing fourth place in the 2021 World Championship with the Ducati factory team.

Miller has always been open to Superbikes and has previously taken part in Australian Championship races just for fun. In 2025 and 2026, he competed for Yamaha in the prestigious Suzuka Eight Hours endurance race, finishing second on both occasions alongside his future team-mate Andrea Locatelli and the Japanese rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga. He had previously competed with a Honda team in 2017.

“I’m absolutely delighted to be moving into the Superbike World Championship with Yamaha and to be continuing our partnership,” said Miller. “I’ve really enjoyed working with the brand in MotoGP over the last few years, and I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity to see what we can achieve on the R1. I’ve already had a little taste of the bike at Suzuka over the last few years, and although the WorldSBK specification is slightly different, I’m really looking forward to this next chapter in my career and hope we can achieve great things.”

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Jack’s personality and international profile will be a great asset.

Yamaha racing director Niccolo Canepa

Miller’s first Superbike test in December

Niccolo Canepa, Sporting Director for Road Racing at Yamaha Motor Europe, added: “I’m delighted that Jack is joining our team. The opportunity to bring a rider with his experience and talent into our works team was too good to miss, and we’re already looking forward to the first test sessions. His Grand Prix experience, particularly his knowledge of Michelin tyres, will be extremely valuable to us. He has already achieved strong results on the R1 at Suzuka, so we are keen to see what he can achieve on the WorldSBK bike and what contribution he will make to the further development of the R1. Beyond the technical aspect, Jack’s personality and international profile will also be a great asset in strengthening Yamaha’s presence and attracting even more attention to the World Superbike Championship.”

As the MotoGP season runs until the end of November, Miller and his colleagues Brad Binder and Franco Morbidelli – who are also moving to the World Superbike Championship and joining the BMW and Ducati works teams – will have to wait until early December for their first test and then hope the weather plays along. The 2025/2026 winter tests were completely rained out. The 2027 season kicks off on the weekend of 19–21 February at Phillip Island in Australia.