Jack Miller’s vast experience and the imminent arrival of MotoGP’s new owners Liberty Media should see the out-of-contract Australian rider extend his career into a 12th season in 2026, says MotoGP paddock insider Matt Birt.
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Birt, a member of the travelling press pack since 1996 and the lead commentator for MotoGP’s world TV feed, feels the Australian’s impact in his first season with Yamaha after crossing from KTM has exceeded his points tally and position in the world championship, and may be the decisive factor in the 30-year-old being chosen over teammate Miguel Oliveira to partner incoming World Superbikes star Toprak Razgatlioglu at Pramac Yamaha next season.
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After a nightmare Italian Grand Prix at his bogey circuit of Mugello last weekend, Miller has 31 points for the season to sit 19th in the championship standings, which would represent the worst single-season finish of his MotoGP career.
While Oliveira – who has missed three rounds with injury this season and is 23rd in the points table with six points – has a two-year deal with Yamaha after coming from Aprilia last year, the 30-year-old’s contract contains an option for the Japanese factory to void the second season if he continues to be the fourth and last Yamaha rider in the standings at the mid-season break after the Czech Grand Prix in mid-July.
Speaking to Fox Sports’ ‘Pit Talk’ podcast, Birt feels that contract clause – and Miller’s impact behind the scenes at a Yamaha factory that has been more competitive this season than any since Fabio Quartararo’s 2021 world title – could prove pivotal.
PIT TALK PODCAST: MotoGP world TV feed commentator Matt Birt joins hosts Michael Lamonato and Matt Clayton to discuss the 2025 season so far, Jack Miller’s Yamaha future, the expectations for Toprak Razgatlioglu in 2026 and if Marc Marquez is stronger than ever after his Italian Grand Prix victory.
Asked if Miller has done enough to be on the 2026 grid, Birt replied “yes”.
“Yamaha, if they had to make the decision now, they would take Jack,” he added.
“It’s a straight shootout between Jack and Miguel … clearly there’s clauses in the Oliveira contract which gives the opportunity if Yamaha sees fit to cut ties with him.
“Championship positions and points table aside, there’s a lot more for Jack to offer Yamaha. He’s very much in the early part of his [Yamaha] career and we know he’s ridden for Honda, Ducati and KTM, so he brings a broad spectrum of technical knowledge to the Yamaha project.
“Jack is a very safe pair of hands, he’s popular in the Pramac team and he has a close relationship with management there, [team owner] Paolo Campinoti and [team director] Gino Borsoi.
“I think Yamaha will keep him, and go with Jack and Toprak.”
Miller secured the 22nd and final seat on the 2025 grid last September. With all other avenues to remain in the world championship closed, he inked a one-year deal with Pramac, who he’d ridden a Ducati for from 2018-20, as part of its new association with Yamaha as the Japanese manufacturer doubled its presence on the grid from two bikes to four.
Last June, when news emerged that Miller would be replaced at KTM’s factory team by Spanish hotshot Pedro Acosta after two seasons with the Austrian brand, Birt – and Miller himself – felt the Australian’s days on the grid were numbered.
“Jack has been in this position before,” Birt said.
“I feel a little bit sorry for him because it seems like every year at this stage of the season, the media are bombarding him with questions about next year.
“Last year, when he knew he was being cut loose by KTM … I remember at Silverstone in August, I’ve never seen him look so down in my entire time I’ve seen Jack in his career, because at that time the phone was not ringing [with contract offers]. There were zero options, and he had no idea what he was going to be doing.
“At least now if the MotoGP road closes, we know he’s got some very good options in World Superbikes, but Jack has made it clear that he wants to stay in MotoGP and feels like he’s got a lot to offer, and still wants to ride the best motorcycles in the world.”
NEW OWNERS STRENGTHEN MILLER’S CASE
The impending arrival of Liberty Media into MotoGP – the American company also owns Formula One – also plays to Miller’s favour, Birt believes.
On Monday night AEST, The European Commission – which opened an investigation into Liberty’s agreement to purchase MotoGP from current owners Dorna Sports in April last year to determine if the transaction violated competition rules – announced that the sale had been given the tick of approval, with the deal set to close no later than July 3, per motogp.com.
Liberty – which purchased F1 in 2017 – will acquire 84 per cent of MotoGP, with Madrid-based Dorna retaining 16 per cent of the series in a deal that valued the company at 4.3 billion euros (A$7.7 billion).
Liberty’s ownership of F1, combined with an emphasis on increased marketing and the United States as a growth area coupled with the smash Netflix series ‘Drive to Survive’, has seen F1’s popularity skyrocket in the past eight years; in a statement from Liberty on Monday, the company’s president and CEO Derek Chang said: “MotoGP is a highly attractive premium sports asset with incredible racing, a passionate fanbase and a strong cash flow profile … we believe the sport and brand have significant growth potential.”
As the only native English-speaking rider in the 22-rider field, 15 of whom come from Spain or Italy, Miller’s popularity in a series with no other Australian, American or British riders on the current grid and few coming through from the Moto2 and Moto3 feeder series makes him a more valuable asset, Birt believes.
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“When the Liberty Media acquisition does get final approval, I think they’re going to be very keen to keep characters and big personalities like Jack on board,” Birt said ahead of Monday’s European Commission announcement.
“It would be a shame with Liberty Media coming in to lose characters like Jack, you can hang your coat on him to be somebody who could bring in a new audience.
“Liberty Media’s initial goal will be ‘how do we put more eyeballs on MotoGP?’ In some parts of the world it’s still seen as being a niche sport, but Liberty Media will see this is a great opportunity.
“We’ve got a great product, we’ve got great racing, great talents. It’s just now, how do we tell these stories to a bigger audience, and that’s what Liberty Media do. They did it with Formula 1, and fingers crossed they’ll be able to do that with MotoGP.
“If [Yamaha] do keep Jack, he’s going to be a key asset in building those bridges with a newer, younger audience.”
‘I DON’T FEEL MY TIME IS DONE’
With the mid-season break and Yamaha’s decision of which of Miller or Oliveira to keep looming, the next three rounds at Assen in the Netherlands this weekend, the Sachsenring in Germany (July 11-13) and Brno in the Czech Republic (July 18-20) are crucial for Miller to retain his 25-point advantage over Oliveira in the standings, particularly after the Australian endured a familiar tale of woe at Mugello last weekend.
By far his weakest circuit of those that have been part of the MotoGP calendar since his 2015 debut – Miller has scored just 25 points in the Italian Grand Prix in 10 years – the Yamaha rider finished 16th in last Saturday’s sprint race after an ambitious strategy to run Michelin’s hard-compound front tyre backfired.
In Sunday’s Grand Prix, the clutch on Miller’s bike started intermittently working soon after the start of the 23-lap race, while wing damage from being hit by a competitor and a fuel system gremlin combined to see him retire from 15th place after 10 laps.
“That was not ideal, the thing was basically unrideable,” Miller said.
“This weekend has been a sobering one. Yesterday was my f**k-up with the front tyre, and today was one of those ones with the racing gods … it was a hard weekend for us. It’s a bogey track, and I’m happy to get out of here and onto the next.”
After nine rounds, Quartararo (61 points, 10th in the standings) remains Yamaha’s highest-scoring rider this season, with the Frenchman’s teammate Alex Rins moving ahead of Miller by one point after Mugello when he finished 15th.
Oliveira, 13th, was the leading Yamaha finisher, but was 26 seconds behind race-winner Marc Marquez at the chequered flag.
Ahead of the Mugello weekend, Miller insisted he was calm about his future despite his comparative lack of job security compared to Oliveira, and what now amounts to a three-race ticking clock on a decision.
“I could go to Superbikes and make better money, but I’m here to try to race the best in the world, the most expensive, the most extreme powerful motorcycles you can ride … that’s why I enjoy it,” he said.
“That’s not to say I don’t like Superbikes, I love it. But we’ll explore options here [in MotoGP] first because I don’t feel my time as a MotoGP rider is done. I still feel like I’m getting better with age.
“I was also out of a job last year, so this is not a new situation for me. I’m not stressed.”
Miller’s affection for Assen this weekend – site of his maiden MotoGP win for Honda in 2016 – will help ease the pain of Mugello, while he has MotoGP podiums at the Sachsenring (third in 2022) and Brno (third in 2019) in his past ahead of a hectic period of three Grands Prix in four weeks that could determine his future.