MILLER SCORES FIRST SPRINT POINTS AS BINDER PRAISES HIS EFFORT

Jack Miller’s Phillip Island weekend carries extra significance: it is the circuit’s final MotoGP event before the Australian Grand Prix moves to Adelaide in 2027 and, with the Australian set to move to the Superbike World Championship after the 2026 season, could be his last home appearance in the premier class. He is expected to return to Phillip Island in 2027 as a WorldSBK rider. Across 12 MotoGP seasons, Miller has scored 23 podiums, including four victories.

The opening session offered encouragement. Miller was third in first practice, then finished 12th in the afternoon’s qualifying session. He was the fastest Yamaha rider but missed direct passage to Q2. Two crashes disrupted his day: one at Turn 1 after he tried riding away from the ideal line, and another in qualifying when the front suddenly folded. “I’m not entirely satisfied. I know where I left time on the table, and that really annoys me,” he said.

Rain was forecast for the weekend, but Miller said the conditions were no surprise in Victoria. “This is an all-weather sport, so we have to race in all weather.” He also dismissed talk of moving the race to Saturday, saying the idea had not been raised by race direction or Dorna.

Saturday brought a turnaround. Miller qualified fifth in mixed conditions, then finished seventh in the sprint to score his first Saturday points of the season. “Finally, this season we got some points in a sprint, which was nice,” he said. He had hoped for rain in the race too, but the track stayed dry.

Miller said he was pleased with his dry-weather performance and felt he had ridden cleanly. A change in wind direction made the opening laps feel “kind of like relearning the track.” The Yamaha’s turning ability helped offset its lack of top speed: Miller could close through the corners, but rivals repeatedly pulled away on the straight.

Brad Binder, who finished sixth after a strong start, described Miller’s corner speed and the Yamaha’s weakness. “Jack was on a mission, he was really flying in the corners, but unfortunately he has such a slow bike,” the KTM rider said. Binder had initially lost ground to Miller, then came out ahead in their duel. He said his start was excellent, but added that being in the right place at the right time and a little luck helped.

Miller called the home crowd “unreal,” with fans packed around the circuit, and took time on the in-lap to acknowledge them. With rain again forecast for Sunday, he welcomed the chance to reproduce his qualifying pace. “I always give 120 percent. But sometimes that’s too much.”