Jack Miller cites Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo inspiration for Yamaha move

Jack Miller says he has “always wanted” to ride a Yamaha MotoGP bike having followed the likes of Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi on M1s earlier in his career.

The Australian has been thrown a lifeline for 2025 after Yamaha signed him on a one-year deal to return to the Pramac squad.

Miller, who previously raced with Pramac on Ducati machinery between 2018 and 2020, will join Miguel Oliveira as the Italian team embarks on its first season with Yamaha.

Having at one stage this summer looked like his MotoGP career was finished, Miller is “extremely excited” to jump on the M1 having admired it since racing with the likes of Rossi and Lorenzo.

“It’s awesome to have the opportunity to work with Yamaha,” he told TNT Sport.

“Such a prestigious brand, such an historic brand. They are pushing so hard to try and achieve what they did just a few years ago.

“To try and help those guys, and I’ve always wanted to ride one of those bikes since I hoped into MotoGP.

“I used to follow the Tech3 boys or Jorge or Vale back in the day when they were on that, and thinking ‘that looks good to ride’.

“So, extremely excited to finally get onboard the M1 and see what it’s all about.”

Miller’s two-season stint with KTM has failed to live up to his race-winning performances of his Ducati days, with 2024 proving especially difficult on the RC16 as he is yet to get near the podium.

Reflecting on his time with KTM, Miller said: “The key thing would be the double podium in Jerez.

“Obviously the sprint podium was really nice the Sachsenring. But I would have liked there to have been more.

“There’s no getting around that. I would have liked a few more highlights, that’s for certain, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles.

“Like I said, there’s still plenty of opportunities this year, so fingers crossed we just hit our stride and finish the year out strong.”

What Miller brings to Yamaha

Miller’s signing raised some eyebrows as Yamaha elected to go for a second experienced hand at Pramac instead of a rookie, as had been rumoured.

But his experience of the V4 engine, which Yamaha is currently developing for the first time, is a key attribute justifying Miller’s move to Pramac. 

“I think it will work really well, because Yamaha is in this development phase,” TNT pundit Neil Hodgson said.

“And Yamaha are developing a V4 engine. Jack’s got a lot of experience using the V4 engine.

“That’s really important because Yamaha’s number one rider, [Fabio] Quartararo, he’s only ever ridden in MotoGP the inline-four, which feels totally different.

“They need experience. Jack’s got the Honda experience, Ducati experience, KTM experience - all of them V4s. So, it’s a great signing all round.”