Let's talk MotoGP: Jack Miller worries a lot and here's why

It’s time to take stock! Like every year for three years, Let's talk MotoGP is embarking on a fairly important undertaking: taking stock of each driver at the end of the 2024 season, today, Jack Miller's turn. For a good part of the winter, we will go back through the rankings in reverse, to the point of talking in detail about the world champion's campaign. Are you ready? Here we go!

Yesterday, we returned to the case of Miguel Oliveira; click here to find this episode.

Sad

Surprisingly, I don't have much to say about Jack Miller. The troublemaker of the paddocks has been quite discreet this year, and probably too much, in fact. The Australian simply didn't stand out once. Not a flash, not a spark, no madness. It's quite sad, but ultimately quite predictable given its results in 2023.

Since he arrived at KTM, he has been in constant regression. The brand was a little behind in the last 12 months, all right, especially compared to Ducati. But last year, we saw him, in his debut for the Mattighofen firm, take podiums in Sprint – remember Jerez – and show off! Since mid-2023, nothing. And it hasn't gotten any better with KTM's stagnation. Quite logical: I don't think anyone expected Miller to take charge when Brad Binder was also having problems.

The result is alarming. The Australian finished 14th in the championship with 87 points scored in 19 rounds. This is his worst record since his debut at the highest level at Honda LCR in 2015. This makes him the lowest ranked official driver of a European brandanother sad record. It has three – discreet – top 5; it's not so bad, but it's much less than in 2023. Clearly, it is a difficult exercise, of the kind that can result in a departure from MotoGP. But he is a miracle.

Barely saved

Apart from his nationality, I don't see why, personally, a team would choose him over another. We know that Australia is a big market, targeted by all brands and important for DORNA. This perhaps explains, at least in part, Pramac-Yamaha's choice concerning him.

Because in the context of a reconstruction, I would have difficulty trusting a rider who has not made Ducati or KTM progress. Under the orange awning, Brad Binder took two consecutive storms. No less than 130 points separated the two men on the evening of the last Grand Prix of the season, it's huge. Pedro Acosta, rookie on a machine once known to be difficult, took it from him 128.

As if that weren't enough, Miller suffers from a difficult-to-treat illness: falls. This year, he found himself on the mat 20 timesonly three did worse. If a driver falls often but goes fast – like Acosta or Marc Marquez – then it's not so serious, but the problem is that the Australian was falling in the void, as evidenced by his four retirements and his four other blank results – including an engine problem in Qatar, it must be noted.

Conclusion

I realize, as I read these lines, that I didn't have that much information about Jack Miller. His season was rather bad, and he could not in any way oppose his replacement by Pedro Acosta – in fact, it was raced when Pedro was still in Moto2. It wasn't disastrous either, and his few top 5s show that he still has some qualities but I can't help but think that at already 29 years old, his finest hours are behind him. He seems to me to be the perfect example of a driver in decline, losing speed, consistency, and explosiveness..

A bit like Miguel Oliveira, I think the worst thing is that we didn't even pay attention to him, except when he tried to make a few breakthroughs high in the rankings before falling (sometimes literally, sometimes figuratively) around ten laps later. Miller, once a troublemaker and a troublemaker, no longer makes people laugh as much as before, as if his turn had passed.

Did he deserve a place in 2025? It's not for me to judge, after all, but I'm curious what you think, so, tell me in comments!

As a reminder, this article only reflects the thoughts of its author, and not of the entire editorial team.

Cover photo: KTM MotoGP