Under-fire Jack Miller insists “I’m past rock bottom” as MotoGP axe looms
"I’ve got 10 races left to enjoy what has been my life for the past 10 or so years"
Jack Miller insists he is “trying to make the most of” what could be his final weeks as a MotoGP rider.
A despondent Miller admitted upon arrival at the British MotoGP that, after losing his 2025 KTM seat, he has “not one single contract” offer to remain next year.
Miller was fifth-fastest in Friday afternoon practice at Silverstone before referring to his uncertain situation as “sombre times”.
He told media including Crash.net: “I’m past rock bottom. Rock bottom was about two weeks ago!
“I’m past that point now. I’ve got 10 races left to enjoy what has been my life for the past 10 or so years.
“I’m trying to make the most of it.”
Seats remaining in the 2025 MotoGP rider line-up are swiftly being taken, so World Superbikes may enter the equation for Miller.
Jack Miller 'trying to build confidence'
Perhaps a heroic performance could salvage his future - and Friday at the British MotoGP was a step forward compared to the struggles that the KTM endured pre-summer break.
“It was gusty. I never once felt nervous even putting the hard fronts on, which is rare here,” Miller assessed.
“The bike works well, I put a decent lap in at the end.
“It’s weird, the soft tyre. It’s working a different way. It’s gelling differently and it took almost three tyres to wrap my head around it.
“I got it sorted at the end, and I’m pretty happy with the day.
“It makes the weekend a lot less stressful when you go straight through. And we haven’t been able to say that for a while.”
Miller added: “I’m trying to build the confidence back after a really difficult period.
“The bike felt similar to what I hopped off in Germany and Assen.
“I was able to go away, think about things, and put them into practice today.
“It’s early doors but I feel alright. I put the lap time in alone.
“Don’t get me wrong, we haven’t reinvented the wheel.
“There’s a bit of new stuff but nothing to change the geometry.
“Here, you can’t get a perfect bike because there’s so many different elements to this track. It’s so bloody big!
“So you just put bandaids on everything. I don’t know if it’s helping us but I can’t complain.”
Teammate Brad Binder was seventh in Friday practice, representing a solid start for the manufacturer who have struggled in recent weeks.
Binder said: “This afternoon I put in the first soft, and felt not good. I felt I wasn’t going anywhere. I was struggled to enter and exit corner.
“I kept it for two runs. The first time attack was going quite okay, I had an issue with my ride-height device.
“I came in, and left everything for the last run. Luckily I put a good lap in.
“I’ve got homework to do, we need to improve a lot.
“It was 15 corners of struggling.”
Neither factory KTM endured the chatter problem which has blighted them at stages of this season.
Miller said: “I feel like I haven’t had vibrations today.”
Binder said: “Not today. It said so in the data but I didn’t feel it.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
