Jaw-dropping theory that Jack Miller could be axed by KTM to keep Pedro Acosta
KTM have five riders contracted but their hopes to increase their four-bike presence on the 2024 MotoGP grid has failed.
How they plan to promote Pedro Acosta from Moto2 into the premier class is therefore still under consideration.
DAZN have stunningly reported: “Pedro Acosta is going to be a MotoGP rider. If, for this, it is necessary to change rules or remove Jack Miller from his KTM, it will be done.”
And DAZN’s Ricard Jove added: “Either a fifth KTM comes out on the grid or I begin to suspect that the victim for Acosta to have his place could be Jack Miller!
“I know, I know, he has a contract, like Pol, but I don't know what to think anymore!”
He added: "I am convinced that there is going to be a fifth KTM. And if not, my intuition tells me that someone is going to be sacrificed and that the one sacrificed is going to be Miller."
Miller, who has a 2024 contract, gave a spikey reaction to being asked if his future was a guarantee at the Austrian MotoGP.
“I’m confirmed. No question,” he said.
Miller and Brad Binder were widely assumed to be assured of their continuation in KTM’s factory team because of their impressive 2023 so far.
They have helped to establish the Austrian manufacturer as arguably the main challenger to Ducati.
Tech3 GASGAS duo Pol Espargaro and Augusto Fernandez are also contracted for 2024, and have insisted that their places are guaranteed.
But KTM’s hope to buy an existing satellite team, or somehow add a fifth bike to accommodate Acosta, has been rejected so far by Dorna.
Whether they would truly be willing to sacrifice Miller, who only arrived this season from Ducati, is a shock suggestion and has not been widely considered.
How watertight his contract is will inevitably be another factor.
Miller has claimed one podium this year, in Spain, and sits eighth in the MotoGP standings - he’s four places behind teammate Binder, who has achieved three Sunday podiums.
Other touted suggestions include reducing Espargaro’s role to test and reserve rider, then requesting additional wildcards from Dorna to maximise his rides next year for both KTM and Tech3, in anticipation of injuries.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
