Jack Miller (31) on his future: There’s a whistleblower at Yamaha

Everyone agrees that outgoing MotoGP rider Jack Miller – a character with plenty of entertainment value, though he’s not without his rough edges – would be a great fit for the World Superbike Championship. The problem is that his only remaining chance of a ride lies with the Yamaha and Honda factory teams. And even these possibilities are, as things stand, purely theoretical.

This is because a place in Honda’s factory squad will only become available if the planned satellite team goes ahead and Somkiat Chantra is placed there – as the Thai rider has a valid contract with Honda Racing Corporation for 2027. And Yamaha’s Superbike management are happy with their current quartet of Andrea Locatelli, Remy Gardner, Stefano Manzi and Xavier Vierge.

“We do have a place available for 2027, and we haven’t signed anyone yet, but we’re very happy with Xavi Vierge and are in talks to continue with him next year,” said Yamaha’s racing director Niccolo Canepa. “Of course, as always, we’re looking at all the available options, but I don’t think there are many riders on the market who could do a better job than he is currently doing.”

Canepa’s boss, Andrea Dosoli, had already told SPEEDWEEK.com back in early June that the team intended to carry on with its current riders. The Blue team have an option on Vierge that can be exercised by September – in a few weeks’ time, we’ll know whether the Spaniard will be allowed to stay.

Jack Miller showers Yamaha with praise

The fact that Miller has expressed a desire for an annual salary of one million euros in the SBK paddock isn’t helping his negotiations. Should the Australian wish to continue racing at World Championship level, it would come as no surprise if he were to scale back his demands.

Ahead of the first MotoGP race after the summer break, the 31-year-old spoke out at Silverstone and confirmed his talks with Yamaha and “everyone” about a move “to another championship”. Miller: “I need to work out what’s best for me so that I can move forward. Hopefully I’ll have some news in the coming weeks. I’ve really enjoyed working with Yamaha – there’s no denying that. It’s a pleasure working with this company; a few weeks ago I rode for them at Suzuka. I wouldn’t have done that if I didn’t enjoy working with these people.”

I get the feeling that every conversation we have ends up in the media.

Jack Miller on Yamaha

The four-time MotoGP winner is also puzzled, though: “I don’t know who’s leaking the information to the media. But I get the feeling that every conversation we have ends up in the media. I reckon they’ve got a whistleblower in their office. Let’s see what I can do with them. I’ve spoken to Michele Pirro about the tyre plans over there (Michelin tyres will be used in the Superbike World Championship from 2027 – the author). I’ve been riding on Michelins for the past eleven years and can bring a fair bit of information to the table. At the same time, though, Ducati is incredibly strong there. So we need to think very carefully about what steps we’ll take to beat these guys – they’ve won every race this year.”