What does the future hold for Jack Miller?

Being an Australian I'm a huge fan of Jack Millers, he is a young down to earth bloke that people can relate to. His jump from Moto3 into MotoGP stirred many opinions in the paddock. Many thought it was to big a step whilst others thought with time he could adapt to the bigger bikes. His initial season came with many spills and crashes all the time his leap into the premiere class being further questioned.

His initial honeymoon season is now over and he is into his second season in the premier class. He has taken one race victory which took everyone by surprise and I'm sure was a huge confidence boost for him. Throughout the season he has achieved some great results given the bike he is riding. On the down side, he has also suffered injuries that have impacted his overall seasons results due to missed opportunities.

Jack has secured one more season on the MarcVDS Honda for 2017.

I am interested in hearing other peoples opinions of how they think things will go for Jack in the future and their general opinion of him. Come 2018 with a hungry crop of riders looking to step into the premiere class from the Moto2 category, I think he will really be tested and measured next year.
With a good season he might qualify for a ride with one of the satellite teams. With a poor season he may be left without a ride.

Interested in hearing other peoples opinions of him and thoughts on how things may pan out for him.

I hope he hangs around, rides his pushy more during the off season and well hate to say it but a bit less mx.

If you compare him to what Marquez has done on the same or very similar bike, I don't think he has lived up to the hype. For me he should have gone to moto 2 and proved himself.

If Honda believed in him that much, he would have been on pedrosa spike next year. He will end up on a satellite bike in the future unless he makes dry podiums next year.

Richy56 said:

If you compare him to what Marquez has done on the same or very similar bike, I don't think he has lived up to the hype. For me he should have gone to moto 2 and proved himself.

If Honda believed in him that much, he would have been on pedrosa spike next year. He will end up on a satellite bike in the future unless he makes dry podiums next year.

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I'm not sure I would compare the MarcVDS Honda he is riding to the Factory Repsol machine, but I think going into the Moto2 series would have given him a much smoother and lot less painful transition into MotoGP.

AJV80 said:

I'm not sure I would compare the MarcVDS Honda he is riding to the Factory Repsol machine, but I think going into the Moto2 series would have given him a much smoother and lot less painful transition into MotoGP.

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Nakamoto said ( he would I suppose) at recent press conference that the LCR bike is almost identical to the repsol bikes. The VdS I thought were the same spec at LCR?

Crutchlow can podium in the dry, then Miller should be next year, otherwise for me he is doomed. Rins, zarco, lowes and binder have more talent imo

Crutchlow has recently had a new frame that was rejected by the Repsol boys. Crutchlow says this has given him more control of the bike and improved his recent results. To my knowledge VDS haven't had this upgrade.

Richy56 said:

Nakamoto said ( he would I suppose) at recent press conference that the LCR bike is almost identical to the repsol bikes. The VdS I thought were the same spec at LCR?

Crutchlow can podium in the dry, then Miller should be next year, otherwise for me he is doomed. Rins, zarco, lowes and binder have more talent imo

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I was unaware they where that similar in spec. I mean apart from this season its very few and far between to see a satellite bike win a race and even make the podium.

I fear if he doesn't get good results next season his days are going to be numbered, Honda seem to be really struggling at the moment which doesn't make it any easier for him. Hopefully they can get their issues sorted out. There is a ton of talent in Moto2 that would jump at the occasion.

Aren't the VDS guys riding the 2015 bike?

The bike may be close to identical, but the tech support is miles different between VDS v Factory.

If you live in a glass house, don't throw rocks.

p4p1 said:

Aren't the VDS guys riding the 2015 bike?

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My recollection as well, Cal may have a close to factory spe c bike but that doesn't mean anyone else does, and I think Miller had the "production" bike last year.


So Cal is riding a bike only MM could ride until recently, and Miller is riding a bike even MM couldn't ride. Cal was a figure of fun till about 3 races ago too.

Notwithstanding this if he keeps dnfing and getting injured it is hard to see Miller going anywhere. He would definitely have been better in moto 2 because the vaunted Honda contract has landed him on bad bikes anyway.

AJV80 said:

I was unaware they where that similar in spec. I mean apart from this season its very few and far between to see a satellite bike win a race and even make the podium.

I fear if he doesn't get good results next season his days are going to be numbered, Honda seem to be really struggling at the moment which doesn't make it any easier for him. Hopefully they can get their issues sorted out. There is a ton of talent in Moto2 that would jump at the occasion.

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The tyres are making all the difference this year.

If Marquez was on a 2013, 2014 or even a 2015 bike he would win races this year. My point being he just has astonishing talent and I'm not convinced Miller would podium on the repsol Honda.

stoner podiumed and poled on his third or fourth race on the LCR in 2006....talent

Richy56 said:

The tyres are making all the difference this year.

If Marquez was on a 2013, 2014 or even a 2015 bike he would win races this year. My point being he just has astonishing talent and I'm not convinced Miller would podium on the repsol Honda.

stoner podiumed and poled on his third or fourth race on the LCR in 2006....talent

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Casey also did 3 years in the 250cc class before advancing to MotoGP. I honestly think Miller would have benefitted immensly from doing some time in Moto2. Would not have been such a steep learning curve for him. The disparety between Moto3 and MotoGP is beyond huge!

AJV80 said:

Casey also did 3 years in the 250cc class before advancing to MotoGP. I honestly think Miller would have benefitted immensly from doing some time in Moto2. Would not have been such a steep learning curve for him. The disparety between Moto3 and MotoGP is beyond huge!

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Jack was commenting on this at Aragon. He said that while it was a huge leap since most of his experience was dirt and barring Moto3 and 125, he knew little else. So many riders struggle to adapt because, even coming up from Moto2, they have exported bad habits. Although progression through the classes teaches much in the way of learning how to set up a prototype, Miller's view is that he arrived in MotoGP with no preconceptions and an entirely fresh perspective - because as you say, Moto3 is a world apart.

Richy56 said:

The tyres are making all the difference this year.

If Marquez was on a 2013, 2014 or even a 2015 bike he would win races this year. My point being he just has astonishing talent and I'm not convinced Miller would podium on the repsol Honda.

stoner podiumed and poled on his third or fourth race on the LCR in 2006....talent

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Are you certain that the MarcVDS is the same as the MarcVSD in spec. I thought that the LCR was closer to the Repsol bikes in spec?

AJV80 said:

Are you certain that the MarcVDS is the same as the MarcVSD in spec. I thought that the LCR was closer to the Repsol bikes in spec?

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The point I think he is making is that while possibly not that far off being a factory spec bike, Stoner managed to in his first year put the bike on pole(round 2) and the podium in round 3. This was before the control era when he was only getting second rate tyres while factory riders were getting SNS and/or tyres made to suit. While Miller having a year on learning on a .... MotoGP bike hasn't been able to maintain consistent top 6/7 results while on a control tyre.

That's certainly not to say Miller isn't talented because he is and he is arguably one of the most naturally talented riders in the grid. It's just that Casey Stoner (IMO of course) is either the most, tied or second most(to Marquez) talented rider of the past 20(at least) years.

Being totally fair though P4, Miller did break his leg prior to the season start so missed all pre-season, and just as he starts to regain full fitness he then has Austria where he damaged his back and hand.

I doubt that he would be top 6/7 consistently anyway were he fully fit on the bike that he has, but would expect top 10 and he was there before Austria so he does 'kind of' have excuses for the rest of the year.

The more telling point will be how he comes back from these latest injuries

Gaz said:

Being totally fair though P4, Miller did break his leg prior to the season start so missed all pre-season, and just as he starts to regain full fitness he then has Austria where he damaged his back and hand.

I doubt that he would be top 6/7 consistently anyway were he fully fit on the bike that he has, but would expect top 10 and he was there before Austria so he does 'kind of' have excuses for the rest of the year.

The more telling point will be how he comes back from these latest injuries

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I have a lot of belief in Miller I think if given a factory bike he could be very successful but unless he had a lot of luck and others had a lot of bad luck I don't think he every ser sucky contends for the championship against Lorenzo(if the Duc works) and Marquez. I'm sure if he went to moto2 instead of the GP he would've contended for the championship. He also beat Hayden on the same equipment in his first year which is IMO quite an achievement.

p4p1 said:

That's certainly not to say Miller isn't talented because he is and he is arguably one of the most naturally talented riders in the grid. It's just that Casey Stoner (IMO of course) is either the most, tied or second most(to Marquez) talented rider of the past 20(at least) years.

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Id give Stoner the most talented ever but Marquez more "risk it".

p4p1 said:

I have a lot of belief in Miller I think if given a factory bike he could be very successful but unless he had a lot of luck and others had a lot of bad luck I don't think he every ser sucky contends for the championship against Lorenzo(if the Duc works) and Marquez. I'm sure if he went to moto2 instead of the GP he would've contended for the championship. He also beat Hayden on the same equipment in his first year which is IMO quite an achievement.

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Miller can be quite fast on the MarcVDS and get top ten finishes, which is respectable. Although I think he struggles with consistency and crashes causing injuring and further inconsistent results. He needs a season of good top ten finishes to place him well in the standings to get noticed. He has another year on his contract now, if he did have a good 2017 season I don't know what factory rides would be available to him.

Even if a factory team could see potential in his talent, I doubt they would gamble on him based on his consistency record to date.