Miller pondering switch from MotoGP to World Superbike for 2027

Just where will Jack Miller station himself when the 2027 international racing season fires up? Poised to exit his current role at Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP at year-end, the 12-year MotoGP veteran is in the throes of an abysmal season, currently ranked 20th in points and is openly looking for work in the FIM Superbike World Championship, willing to step away from the prototype machinery of MotoGP for the production-based sport Superbike motorcycles. With MotoGP now on its summer break, Miller is back home in Australia trying to sort things out and come up with the best opportunity 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 I mean It’s like my time in MotoGP has kind of run its course. Unfortunately, the last couple of years have been tough with just not having the most competitive package. 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. I’ve had chats with everybody and there is nothing on paper. I want to kind of take my time and understand what’s goig 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.

“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 publicly stated that he demands an annual salary of $1 million from any Superbike World Championship organization 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 winner. “At the end of the day, you’ve got guys getting paid upwards of over $10 million 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.”

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

“Until all of the seats are confirmed, I want to say yes,” he said, “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. The 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 11 Grands Prix yet to be run Miller still has objectives he wants to hit.

“Yeah, try to take the maximum out of this bike,” 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 20km/h, 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. I mean there is no point in riding around and just complaining. 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, swing arms, 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, 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 to 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.”