JACK MILLER: LIFE AFTER MOTOGP?

Long before he was carving up MotoGP straights on prototype machinery, Jack Miller was a Queensland kid cutting laps on a motocross track – and it says something about the man that, on a rare break from the world championship grind, rebuilding that very track back home in Townsville was the first thing on his to-do list. It’s that dirt-bred, do-it-yourself streak that’s always set Miller apart from the rest of the MotoGP paddock, and now, with his prototype racing future looking shakier than ever, it might just be the thing that points him toward his next chapter…

Just where will Jack Miller station himself when the 2027 international racing season fires up and sets out to globetrot Planet Earth? Now poised to exit his current role at Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP, the 12-year MotoGP veteran is positioned 20th in the 2026 MotoGP World Championship standings. Currently in the throes of an abysmal season and now unable to secure a MotoGP ride for the 2027 campaign, Miller has, enthusiastically, gone looking for work in the FIM Superbike World Championship paddock. Good with giving up the prototype machinery of MotoGP for the production-based sport motorcycles of the World Superbike Championship, the 31-year-old native of Townsville, Queensland, Australia is, as recent MotoGP media has reported, perfectly fine with making such a dramatic move at this point in his prolific racing career. With the MotoGP contingent now on break until the Grand Prix of Britain on August 9, Miller has held station at his home Down Under. And that’s exactly where we found the man without a ride. Relaxed, confident and in good spirits, Miller addressed the current reality of his racing surroundings.

“I’m back home in Australia,” said Miller on Friday afternoon. “Yeah, back home here and recovering after what was a hectic beginning of the season. I mean I finished it off with four races in four weeks, so it was pretty hectic first half of the season. Now back here at home, I mean it’s been good. Last week I just spent basically rebuilding my motocross track and getting everything in running order. I’ve been doing a bit of riding and doing a bit of fishing and doing a bit of training. Yeah, I’ve been out on the bicycle as much as I can.”

While the Superbike World Championship rumours currently swirling around Miller come in the shape of several WorldSBK teams and organisations, Miller is still very much trying to sort things out and come up with the best opportunity as possible.

“I don’t know yet, to be honest,” answered Miller when asked what just might be next for him and his future. “Obviously there is a change coming. I mean it’s like my time in MotoGP has kind of run its course. Unfortunately, the last couple of years have been, more or less the last two years especially, have been tough with just not having the most competitive package. You know what I mean? We’ve tried to impress and stay relevant as much as possible while developing the new project. It’s been pretty tough, but I’m looking forward to what’s to come in the future. I mean what it is, I don’t know yet and that’s plain and simple. You know I’ve had chats with everybody and there is nothing on paper. I want to kind of take my time and understand what it all is, or what’s going to be the best for me moving forward to try. Obviously I’m looking at World Superbike. It looks like it is going to be the best option for me in terms of being able to perform with my abilities over there and to become the best Superbike rider I can possibly be”

And Jack Miller is enthused with the Superbike World Championship and what it may have to offer him at this stage of his career.

“Absolutely!” declared Miller, enthusiastically “Next year I will be 32-years-old. I still feel like I am getting better every year. I still feel like I’ve got a lot more to give to the sport. And I’m still learning every year, so I want to continue to learn and become a better rider.”

Miller has also made a public declaration that he demands an annual salary of $1 million dollars from any Superbike World Championship organisation interested in bringing him aboard in 2027 and beyond.

“I mean I feel like that’s what the value should be,” explained the four-time MotoGP race winer. “At the end of the day, you’ve got guys getting paid upwards of over $10 million dollars for racing MotoGP and then you’ve got guys doing it for $100,000. Its ridiculous. I think everybody needs to stay strong because at the end of the day, especially in MotoGP, the money is not getting any better. And the stuff that you’ve got to do in terms of races, sprint races, all the media commitments, there are 22 rounds now. The money is not getting any better, it’s only getting worse, you know? The toll it takes on your body is extremely high. You need to be able to make a living out of it because there is a lot that goes into it. All of these parts are a part of it that you need to deal with because everybody is doing it.”

If the correct opportunity presented itself to him at this point in time, would Jack Miller still entertain the idea of going back to the MotoGP grid in 2027?

“Until all of the seats are confirmed, I want to say yes,” answered Miller. “But the likelihood is very slim. I had a good run. I don’t look back on it with any negativity. I absolutely want to race in 2027. Absolutely. I love it. I enjoy the competitiveness of it. Yeah, and the whole test rider role may be something for me, but not yet. I enjoy testing, but I enjoy testing stuff for me to get better. You know what I mean?’

With eleven Grands Prix yet to be run before the 2026 MotoGP World Championship wraps up at the Grand Prix of Valencia on November 29, Jack Miller has marks and objectives he wants to hit.

“Yeah, try to take the maximum out of this bike, you know?” explained Miller. “We’ve been able to crack the top 10 a couple of times. Hopefully we can get out there amongst our rivals and have more good showings for us fighting inside the top 10. We’ll see. There are some really good things coming up for me in the back part of the year with the likes of England and Philip Island and the Asian rounds that I really love. Hopefully we can have a more competitive second half of the year. We’ve got nearly six months under our belt with this V4 now and hopefully the boys can find something in Japan over the break and, fingers crossed, to help us improve in the back half of the year in terms of top speed and stuff like that. The bike itself is not crazy bad! It turns, it stops, it does everything quite well. We’re just missing horsepower at this point in time. When we get to a track like the Sachsenring, we are competitive. However, when it comes to the straights, we suffer. On a big straight, we’re suffering 20K an hour, but that doesn’t show what we are doing on all the little squirting straights, as well. From third gear on, we’re on the decline, let’s say, in terms of time and everything like that.

“I’ve tried to do my best with the V4,” furthered Miller. “I mean there is no point in riding around and just complaining. I mean the only way it is going to get better is to try and improve the overall package and give the best possible feedback to the engineers and never turn away from testing new options and new items and so on. I’ve always tried to be very open minded when it comes to trying new stuff and trying different chassis, swingarms, linkage, so on and so forth. Any part I’m more than willing to try and to try and understand and try to do it with an open mind and to try and give the best possible understanding that there is. I’ve had a good two years here. Like I said in the beginning, I would have liked to have had some better results, but that’s the way it goes, At the end of the day, we still have a lot of racing left this year. I think it’s the same in any sort of day to day work, you know? You try to leave the way you came in. You want to be professional to the end. I know what my value is, for sure. I believe I can be an asset to one of those teams over there. Especially with all of the things that are coming. The goal is to go over there and try and be as competitive as possible. It feels weird leaving MotoGP and not achieving the goal that I obviously set out for myself many years ago and that was to try and be World Champion. The door is always open, for sure, to ride with Yamaha in Superbike. Like I said, we need make a decision on what we are doing. I feel really good. I’ve enjoyed this little break that we’ve had. Being back home has been nice to just sort of reset and recover and get ready for the back half of the season. I want to approach it with a full head of steam.”