JACK MILLER SAYS YAMAHA WORLD SUPERBIKE MOVE WON’T DELIVER THE WINS HE WANTS IN 2027

Pramac Ducati rider Jack Miller will end his MotoGP career at the close of 2026 and switch to the World Superbike Championship in 2027 with Yamaha’s factory team. The move comes after Yamaha chose not to extend Miller’s factory contract with Pramac, prompting the Australian to take up a new role in WorldSBK where he will replace Xavi Vierge in the Yamaha line-up.

Miller’s departure marks the end of a decade in MotoGP’s premier class. He debuted in 2015 with LCR Honda and went on to record four Grand Prix wins, 23 podiums and two pole positions across 212 races, including two separate stints as a factory rider. In his current Pramac period, Miller has also spent time developing and testing for Yamaha, a task he says he has done enough of.

While Miller is looking forward to a fresh start, he admits his ideal scenario—riding a Yamaha at the front and fighting for wins—may not be immediately achievable. He believes his time in MotoGP since 2023 has not given him the chance to compete for victories, and he is hoping WorldSBK’s direction and Yamaha’s progress can change that. Speaking through GPOne, Miller said: “I’ve done enough of that. I don’t like developing the bike. I’d love to have the chance to ride the best bike, get out there, and fight for the win again, but that’s not the case.”

Miller also pointed to the upcoming rule and tyre changes as the main reasons for optimism. He said he is “very lucky” to have his position at Yamaha and added that he hopes the new regulations and tyres can improve the team’s competitiveness: “I’m very lucky to have the position I have at Yamaha, and I hope the rule changes and the new tyres can help us. You know, I think we can hope to try and compete.”

Even so, Miller made clear he does not want to be defined by a test-rider role. He also left the door open to future MotoGP involvement if Yamaha ever required him. “They have Augusto. But if they need me, I’ll never say no,” he said, referring to Augusto Fernandez.

Yamaha’s 2027 WorldSBK plans place Miller alongside Andrea Locatelli, with the rest of the manufacturer’s confirmed structure including GRT riders Stefano Manzi and Remy Gardner. Vierge is reported to be close to signing with Barni.

The WorldSBK calendar is set to change in ways that could affect the competitive balance. In July, the championship announced a rev limiter to help balance performance, a unified fuel across the grid, and a reduction to the noise limit by 3dB to 112dB. Michelin will also replace Pirelli as the sole tyre supplier in WorldSBK, at a time when Pirelli is taking over from Michelin in MotoGP.

For Yamaha, the timing is significant because the team is currently facing a large gap to the front. The sources note that Yamaha and Miller will be aiming to reduce their deficit with the YZF-R1, which must contend not only with the dominant Ducati V4R but also with the Bimota KB998. In the 2026 standings, Locatelli is Yamaha’s leading scorer with 103 points, far behind Ducati’s Nicolo Bulega on 553. Ducati riders have also locked out the top three positions in the standings with three rounds remaining.

Beyond Ducati, Alex Lowes is the highest-scoring non-Ducati rider with 198 points, while Miguel Oliveira is the top BMW rider in 2026 with 107 points (ahead of Locatelli). Oliveira has recorded four podiums but has missed multiple races due to injury. Lowes (with one third-place finish) and Axel Bassani (with two second-place results) are among the limited group of non-Ducati riders to reach the rostrum this season, alongside Oliveira.