Jack Miller’s chances of extending his tenure with KTM into a third campaign in 2025 were likely doomed before this season began, says MotoGP lead TV commentator Matt Birt.
Birt, who has nearly three decades of experience in the paddock as a journalist and is now the primary English-language world feed caller for the series, feels the arrival of Pedro Acosta unsettled the 29-year-old Australian, and the Spanish rookie sensation’s subsequent performances riding KTM’s RC16 machine for its GasGas outfit made it inevitable that Miller would be moved on.
Every MotoGP qualifying, practice and race LIVE and ad-break free from lights out to the chequered flag. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial Today >
KTM announced Miller would be replaced by Acosta at its senior team for 2025 at the most recent Grand Prix in Italy in early June, with Miller hoping to slot into the Tech3-run GasGas team in a straight swap with the Spaniard.
But a red-hot rider market silly season, triggered by Marc Marquez signing a deal with the factory Ducati team to become world champion Francesco Bagnaia’s teammate for next year, saw five of the top six riders in the championship standings ink contracts with new teams either side of the Mugello race weekend.
KTM snapped up Ducati discard Enea Bastianini and Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales for its Tech3 squad last week, leaving Miller – along with incumbent GasGas rider Augusto Fernandez, who beat Acosta to the 2022 Moto2 title – out in the cold.
MORE MOTOGP NEWS
LIFELINE LOST Champion’s shock re-signing ends Miller’s Honda hopes
FIVE BIG QUESTIONS How the 2025 rider market mayhem impacts 2024
The Australian’s MotoGP future became even more tenuous when Honda, against expectations, re-signed 2020 world champion Joan Mir to a new two-year deal this week. Miller now has minimal options to continue his MotoGP career into an 11th season in 2025, while speculation has suggested a move to the World Superbikes Championship, mostly likely with Ducati in place of 39-year-old two-time champion Alvaro Bautista, could be in his future.
Birt says Acosta’s blistering start – the 20-year-old finished on the podium twice in his first three Grands Prix and sits fifth in the championship standings with 101 points – left KTM with no option after Miller struggled mightily in the first seven events of the season, managing just 27 points (16th overall).
“I’m not sure what’s going on with Jack but he seems to have lost his way, he lost his mojo,” Birt said.
“Jack has always been someone who’s able to find the positives and remain quite upbeat, but Barcelona and Mugello … he just seemed so down. That’s not like him at all, but I guess he knew the writing was on the wall in regards to his future.
“It must have been quite a tricky situation because he came into the season knowing he was in trouble before a wheel had even been turned with Pedro Acosta coming in.
“Acosta has made all of the other KTM riders look stupid. He’s even made [Miller’s teammate Brad] Binder look pretty average, and we all thought Binder was the guy making the KTM look great. Acosta is just that good.”
Miller’s precarious MotoGP future would rob the series of one of its two native English-speaking riders – with South African Binder – should he be squeezed out and seek a future in World Superbikes.
The 20-round MotoGP calendar visits 14 different countries, but six of the races – Jerez, Catalunya, Aragon, Valencia, Mugello and Misano – are held in either Spain or Italy, with Spanish and Italian riders occupying 16 of the 22 full-time seats across the 11 MotoGP teams.
MORE MOTOGP COVERAGE
‘HE MADE US BETTER’ KTM boss credits Miller’s input … after sacking him
WINNERS AND LOSERS Marquez, Martin, and making sense of a mad silly season
Speaking on the Paddock Pass Podcast, veteran MotoGP reporters David Emmett and Neil Morrison said Miller leaving the grid, should it happen, would be a blow for the diversity of the series ahead of MotoGP being purchased by Formula One owner’s Liberty Media in a $4.5 billion deal announced in April this year.
“It would be a fantastic gain for World Superbikes, he’d be a real asset,” Emmett said of Miller.
“But he’d be a big loss in terms of publicity for MotoGP. It would make it more of a non English-speaking series, which would make it more difficult to promote with Liberty [Media] coming in.”
“I think the series would definitely miss Miller,” Morrison added.
“We had a chance to speak with [KTM motorsport director] Pit Beirer when the news that Enea [Bastianini] and Maverick [Vinales] were signing on, and it did sound like the initial plan was to keep Jack on board. They were trying to give him as much time as possible to show that he could turn the ship around and make good on this season.
“But Pit’s phrase on Jack was that when they saw him finish the sprint and the race [Grand Prix] out of the points at Mugello, they thought it was enough and they had to act decisively to get the two riders [Bastianini and Vinales] in Tech3 next year.
“When one of the current riders is not scoring points in any race, then it’s grounds to say ‘sorry mate, we tried … goodbye’.
Miller, who admitted his year-to-year contract status wore on him during his five seasons at Ducati from 2018-22 where he won three Grands Prix and took 21 podiums, has just one top-five result (Portugal) this season after taking a sprint race and Grand Prix podium in his first season at KTM last year, finishing 11th overall with 163 points.
Birt feels the Australian still has plenty to offer the world championship, on and off the bike.
“On his day, Jack can still cut it,” Birt said.
“I hope he does stay as we need a grid that has different nationalities, it can’t just be predominantly Spanish and Italian riders. We need characters like Jack to stick around.”
Source Agencies
