MotoGP

Miller's MotoGP highs forgotten “as soon as f***ing Christmas”

Ducati MotoGP rider Jack Miller says his 2021 highpoints were forgotten “as soon as f***ing Christmas came around” as his future continues to be put into question.

Lewis Duncan

Edited: Mar 17, 2022, 3:07 PM

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Jack Miller, Ducati Team

Miller’s current contract with Ducati expires at the end of this season, while teammate Francesco Bagnaia has already agreed a new deal through to the end of 2024.

With Qatar Grand Prix winner Enea Bastianini and 2021’s top rookie Jorge Martin in the frame for a factory team promotion in 2023, Miller already faced questions about his future beyond this year.

Miller responded to this ahead of the season-opener in Qatar, saying he was not fazed by “bullshit” media claims about his future.

The Australian won twice in an up and down 2021 campaign and emerged fourth in the standings, albeit 61 points behind Bagnaia in runner-up spot.

However, he feels his solid results have already been forgotten about now in a MotoGP era where “everybody is a contender for the podium”, but stresses that he still “gained a lot of experience”.

Jack Miller, Ducati Team

Photo by: Akhil Puthiyedath

“I think you guys can see watching from the outside how bloody difficult it is at the moment,” Miller said of MotoGP now.

“[If] you are a little bit struggling in a session, like let’s say I don’t put a tyre in for example in FP3 I’m 19th overall in the session.

“It wasn’t that I was riding around with one arm on the handlebars, I was pushing to my maximum.

“Yeah, I was on the hard tyre but still, 19th, that’s how it is.

“So, everyone is a contender. Yeah, maybe last year I had more expectations of myself, a false sense of expectation let’s say.

“This year I’m calm, I feel, what will be will be. I gained a lot of experience last year.

“Nobody talks about it, but I finished fourth in the championship. But everyone seems to forget that as soon as f***ing Christmas comes around.

“Anyway, I finished fourth in the championship last year, I gained a lot of experience, I had two victories and I look forward to working on those strengths of last year because last year I started with this big chip on my shoulder, saying ‘ah, I’m going to be a championship challenger’.

“And then I got slapped with some reality and brought back down to Earth and was able to build a season from then on more or less, with some hiccups.

“But it is what it is, that’s racing. So, this year I’m trying to start humble, calm and build my championship.”

Miller’s start to the 2022 season was disastrous, as technical issues with his Ducati forced him into early retirement in Qatar.

The top 2022 Ducati runner was Pramac’s Johann Zarco in eighth, as Bagnaia and Martin collided as they both tried to recover from bad starts.

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