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Jack Miller just matched his best result since MotoGP’s summer break with 12th place at the Portugal Grand Prix.
The Aussie’s attention will now turn to closing the season out in Valencia, and ensuring that Yamaha get the necessary feedback at the post-season test to improve their bike for 2026. Since the summer break, they have only gone backwards, and the new V4 engine doesn’t look encouraging, either.
Miller has been rewarded with the opportunity to ride in his 12th consecutive MotoGP campai…
Photo by Gold & Goose Photography/Getty Images
Jack Miller just matched his best result since MotoGP’s summer break with 12th place at the Portugal Grand Prix.
The Aussie’s attention will now turn to closing the season out in Valencia, and ensuring that Yamaha get the necessary feedback at the post-season test to improve their bike for 2026. Since the summer break, they have only gone backwards, and the new V4 engine doesn’t look encouraging, either.
Miller has been rewarded with the opportunity to ride in his 12th consecutive MotoGP campaign next year, but Pramac will want to see more from him. Repeating an 18th-place finish in the riders’ standings won’t do him many favours with a view to 2027.
Miller’s bike has a weight disadvantage and is believed to be as much as 12kg over the minimum weight limit. Miller has produced the second-worst showing of his career in 2025, but a better bike could change his fortunes completely.
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Jack Miller left ‘suffering’ with Yamaha’s bike at turns 14 and 15 during the Portugal Grand Prix
Miller revealed where Yamaha must desperately improve, and it isn’t necessarily just one area of their bike. They risk losing superstar rider Fabio Quartararo if they cannot catch their rivals over the winter.
Now, a few years on from his last competitive gig, Miller admitted he does ‘miss’ Ducati, who helped him to three victories across his career.
In Portugal, he reflected on how his Yamaha bike left him ‘suffering’ through turns 14 and 15 at Portimao, restricting his exit speed throughout the race.
“That was much of a muchness today,” he told FOX Sports Australia. “I got away to a decent start and tried to challenge the boys there and stay involved, but I was suffering on the exit of [turns] 14-15 and once the tyre [grip] dropped, that got even harder to do.
“I was only catching back [elsewhere in the lap] what I was giving up in those two corners, those two accelerations. The bike was pumping like mad, so you’re trying to do what you can to keep it under control. It’s a handful.
“I was just trying to get the bike as straight as possible from turns 14 to 15 to squirt it through there, but it was still f—— tying itself in knots before heading into 15,” Miller continued.
“You try to manage it as best you can with lean angle and position on-throttle, but when you’re missing that inertia, that torque in the engine, it gets hard to do.”
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What Jack Miller has to do to secure his MotoGP career in 2026
Although he has struggled at times, Miller’s feedback is ‘golden’ for Yamaha, and should help them in the future.
It’s a big reason why they kept him around, to help with the development of their bike for next season, and heading into the new regulations in 2027.
But there is a question to be raised over whether his lack of results permits a place at Pramac. There are a lot of encouraging Moto2 and Moto3 riders who are desperate for his sort of opportunity.
Look at Manu Gonzalez. He has been exceptional at times and has a lot of talent. Another bad year for Miller could be the end of the road for him.