Australian rider says goodbye to Ducati after five seasons and signs a two-year deal with KTM. The house of Mattighofen had already renewed Brad Binder's contract until 2024.
The news that everyone knew would happen was made official in the early hours of Thursday (9th). Another piece of MotoGP's silly season has come together: KTM has confirmed that Jack Miller will be Brad Binder's teammate for the 2023 and 2024 MotoGP seasons.
The Australian returns to KTM after eight years, when with the Red Bull KTM Ajo he was runner-up in Moto3. Miller replaces Miguel Oliveira in the factory team - the Portuguese rider is negotiating with Gresini after communicating to the house of Mattighofen that he does not accept to return to defend the Tech3.
"Of course we know Jack since he made a boom in our Moto3 program and it is a great pleasure to bring a rider of his capabilities into our MotoGP structure. He left us with a positive impression and we have kept in touch. Jack's approach and attitude towards racing is very similar to ours. I am very proud that he is coming back to Red Bull KTM again and will be a great addition to our mission," said Pit Beirer, director of KTM's sports division.
"Having Jack alongside Brad in our team means we have another strong asset. I know him well, I know how he likes to work and what he can bring to our package. I believe his character and the way he will ride and push our KTM RC16 will help us a lot at this stage of our project. Like Brad, Jack is a pure rider: he will find the limits and the maximum of any condition and any package and still push himself to get the result and that is a pretty rare quality. The next two seasons will be exciting," added Francesco Guidotti, KTM's MotoGP chief.
Miller's move to KTM therefore means that the Australian leaves Ducati after five years. Three seasons at Pramac and two with the factory team later, the rider claimed two wins and 16 podiums with the house of Borgo Panigale.
"They were five very important years for me: together with Ducati, I won several podiums, including two victories that I will never forget. In addition to the two World Constructors' titles (2020 and 2021) and the team title, last year I finished fourth in the championship and that was my best result ever in MotoGP," Miller said in an official Ducati statement.
"Together with Pramac and Ducati, I have grown a lot as a rider and year after year I have always felt like the best version of myself. Next year I will take on a new challenge, but right now I just want to think about finishing this last season with my team in the best possible way," concluded the rider.
The Borgo Panigale outfit, meanwhile, has not yet decided who will replace Miller and who will be Francesco Bagnaia's companion in the factory team. Even the unknown is in the air at Ducati: of its eight bikes on the MotoGP grid, only one knows the rider who will ride it - it is precisely 'Pecco'. Enea Bastianini and Jorge Martín appear to be candidates for the vacancy, but Álex Rins and Joan Mir could also join the team.