Jack Miller said KTM told him it would keep him somewhere within its ranks until 2025 and then gave him just hours' notice that it had signed Ena Bastianini and Maverick Vinales for its remaining MotoGP championship seats instead.
Miller lost his factory ride when KTM promoted Pedro Acosta to its lineup alongside Brad Binder for next year.
The door was still open for a move to the Tech 3 team until current Ducati rider Bastianini and Aprilia Vinales announced he would be switching earlier this month.
“The last thing I heard was, ‘Don’t bother talking to anyone, we want to keep you in the family,’ and then you get a phone call three hours before the press release saying, ‘You’re not getting a contract,’” Miller said. “So yeah, I was surprised to say the least.”
What went wrong at KTM
Miller has defended his contribution to the KTM team, which he joined from the Ducati works team last season, stating that his current lack of results was due to the bike reaching its development ceiling.
“As I told them, I didn't come to this project to be in and out of it in two years,” Miller continued.
“I left probably the most competitive bike on the grid to come here and try to bring my knowledge and I feel like what we've been able to really bring in the last year to improve the bike to a certain level has been a big plus.
He continued: “And now we have reached a wall and it is due to development and what we need to develop and where we should go with the bike.
“There is only so much information that can be brought in from another manufacturer to take you forward.
“Eventually the parts have to come, and the development has to happen.”
But he admitted his disappointment with his contribution as well.
Miller has only made one Grand Prix podium on a KTM and sits just 16th in the current standings, while teammate Binder is seventh and rookie Acosta is fifth in the championship on a GasGas-branded Tech3 bike.
“If I want to say I'm satisfied or happy with the way things turned out… I'm not, that's not what I intended to do,” Miller admitted.
“I'm the first to feel more disappointed than anyone else.”
He added: “I felt frustrated with myself because I was not able to achieve what I had planned at the beginning of the year. But that's the way it goes sometimes and we'll keep working and we'll be back.
Where will Miller go?
Although four-time Grand Prix winner Miller said he would be satisfied with his achievements if his career “ended tomorrow”, he added that he believes he will be able to find another place on the MotoGP grid for 2025, and is prioritizing that over considering the possibility of taking up seats. In the World Motorcycle Championship.
“I feel like with the options we have on the table at the moment there is a good place for me in MotoGP already,” he said.
“I'll be 30 next year. I still feel like I have more to offer here in MotoGP.
“Even though we couldn't adapt to the bike, we were still consistently in the top 10. We were up there with those guys and I feel like I still have those guys' speed.
“Yes, the ball is constantly moving and the crossbar is constantly going up, but I feel like I'm still stepping up to the plate and doing my best week after week.
“If we can get a competitive package or an interesting package… it's just a matter of evaluating my options and what's best for me in my career.
“Luckily for me, I haven't burned any bridges here in the ring so I can get into the majority of the teams and chat.”
He has been linked with a return to the Ducati fold and a seat at Gresini, which needs a replacement for Marc Marquez.
“Going to Ducati is obviously very interesting because I know the bike well, I know the chassis well, and I have no doubt that I can get back on that bike and be in the top five almost straight away,” Miller said. .
“But a lot of things change in MotoGP by '27, working on a project and looking for a long-term home to finish my last strong years in MotoGP and work towards a common goal, which I thought we had but we didn't.” R [at KTM]It's one of those things that we need to balance.
“I have money in my account. I don't have to worry about that. I'm very lucky. So, it's not about the money, it's about what I want for my career and for myself personally.”
One alternative could be to return to Pramac, where he raced Ducatis from 2018-2020 but is now set to switch to Yamaha.
Playing the role of a test racer doesn't appeal to me.
“I don't think of myself as a test rider,” Miller said.
“I couldn't, I'm enjoying this so much, I'm enjoying racing.
“I don't enjoy the testing side of it, I just do it and enjoy the work because you're working towards a goal.
“But just riding around in circles on a motorcycle doesn't interest me.
“Getting out there and competing with 22 other bikes is what I do.
“Who knows in the future, but for now all I want to do is race my bike.”
Goodbye Fernandez too
KTM's Bastianini/Viñales announcement also sees Augusto Fernandez officially leave their lineup – and perhaps MotoGP as well.
That comes as no surprise – at least to Fernandez – given the struggles he's had in his second season at Tech3 so far.
When asked what the official confirmation that he had lost his seat meant for him, Fernandes replied: “Well, I need to find another seat. So I need those good results. We know the time has come and these two races are important. Just keep pushing,” There is nothing else you can do.
