The Totally Confident Mr Miller

Jack’s always up for a chat – it just takes a while to get round to his main gig;  first there’s cars, music, helicopters and bikes – but not race bikes – to get through.

Helicopters? Jack is flying high, not just at his alpine retreat that is his base in tax-haven Andorra, but getting his helicopter license.

That’s a spare time hobby when he’s all too rarely back home in Townsville but it’s on the to-do list.

“I’ve got 14 hours logged up officially and once I get to 20 hours I can fly alone and keep clocking up the hours, then do a proper test and get the license,” Miller said.

“The problem is I never get home enough so it’ll take time, but I’ll get around to it.

“I really enjoy the helicopter, it is a lot of fun and relaxing and uses a whole different set of skills compared to riding.

“And I’m fortunate that a neighbour of mine has a helicopter business working on power lines in North Queensland, and he’s got a lot of experience, training pilots.”

However, long before he gets his official ticket to fly solo in a chopper, Miller will be on a Ducati Desmosedici GP17, the bike he will race in the 2018 MotoGP World Championship with Italian squad Pramac Ducati.

It could be a pivotal year in his career.

Fast forward to 2019 when all the MotoGP factory gigs are up for grabs, with Miller staking his claim against factory incumbents Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso plus his equally ambitious Pramac satellite teammate Danilo Petrucci.

Miller has committed his immediate future to Ducati via a contract option so this is a huge opportunity for a rider with time on his side. In 2019 Miller, at 24, will be one of MotoGP’s most experienced young guns.

“It’s a long way to go and that’s my goal, to get on the factory team in 2019,” Miller said.

The audition for the factory squad will be played out over the first half of 2018 with Miller convinced that choosing the right package will deliver what he still craves most – the MotoGP World Championship.

“My motto has always been I’m not here to make the money in the early years, for me the package to realise my potential is more important,” Miller said.

“You need the results before you get the real big money and if you are always chasing the money you can lose yourself a little bit. So I feel the Ducati is a step forward for my style in terms of the package even though I could have got more money with another team.”

It is the same thinking that three years ago catapulted Miller into the limelight. He sacrificed quids to ride a KTM for Ajo Motorsport in the 2014 Moto3 championship 

and came up agonizingly short – just two points – of the world title despite winning six races to champion Alex Marquez’s three.

“I could have raced elsewhere for more money but I wanted that KTM package in Moto3 and believed I could fight for the title – and I did,” Miller said.

That Moto3 campaign triggered a dream deal for Miller, a three-year HRC contract that, by all logic, should have been the pathway to a spot in the factory team.

In 2015 the jump direct from Moto3 to MotoGP was unheard of, but the transition was not eased with Miller being allocated an Open category bike for his rookie season.

In 2016 and aboard a factory satellite spec RC213V, Miller had a horror run with leg, back and wrist injuries but achieved a memorable career milestone – his debut MotoGP victory in a rain-lashed Dutch TT at Assen.

“My first year on the open bike and coming from Moto3 I felt I did as well as could be expected, having never raced a big four stroke,” he says of his three-year Honda journey.

“I was on the same bike as Nicky Hayden (2006 world champion) and Eugene Laverty and I was the top Honda open rider in my rookie season.

“2016 was just my second year in MotoGP and I struggled with injury the whole way through the season and overall didn’t feel comfortable on the bike, certainly not as comfortable as I do this year with a much-improved chassis.

“But I got the win at Assen and that’s one I’ll never forget.

“This season started really strong and then plateaued a bit and it’s taken some time to get my rhythm back after switching to a superbike for the Suzuka 8 Hours. 

“But I’m still aiming at a top ten finish in the championship despite some setbacks.

“Being taken out in Jerez when I had some serious points on offer was one, and then the big crash at Le Mans – that was a close call.”

As contract talks loomed for 2018 Honda called for better results while Miller’s desire was for a package that he felt would allow him to maximise his potential.

The Turning Point

A crucial turning point for Miller was when HRC confirmed that they would not renew his factory deal for 2018 and that even if he stayed with his current MarcVDS team the bikes would be 2017 model RC213Vs.

A glance at the speed and the results of the red bikes in 2017, led by title contender Dovizioso and backed by Lorenzo and Petrucci, made it close to a no-brainer when interest was sparked for a Pramac Ducati gig.

The Honda RC213V in 2017 is a bike that only Spanish star Marc Marquez has truly mastered and, not for the first time, Honda’s focus is on the rider winning championships and races. 

Miller is not the only Honda rider to lament the physical challenge of being fast on a Honda, a bike with nervous braking manners and a reputation for corner exit wheelspin.

The Ducati upswing has been unmissable under famed technical director Gigi Dall’Igna. The Desmosedici, while not perfect, is increasingly rider-friendly, with speed and horsepower to burn and what is regarded as a benchmark Magnetti Marelli electronic set-up. This season it has been a winner in the hands of Dovizioso with podium visits by Lorenzo and Petrucci and Jack reckons it’ll suit his style.

“The Ducati looks like it has lots of mechanical grip and if you can stop the bike and get it turned on the right part of the tyre it looks like it recovers grip on the corner exit,” Miller said.

“I’ve watched Petrucci and how he is making that thing work, so I’m looking forward to having crack on it.

“And you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see the straight-line speed of the Ducati, everyone knows that from the time sheets. 

“And with the little that I’ve had to do with the guys in red so far, I have the feeling I’m really wanted there and I have a factory contract with an option.

“I had an offer to stay on a Honda so this is a big change for me.

“But every year I’m pushing to get on a more competitive package and be motivated to push myself to the max every week.”

What Miller sees as an invigorating new challenge will kick-start after the final race for the post-season test at Valencia, when he swaps his MarcVDS Honda RC213V for the latest spec Ducati GP17, as raced by Lorenzo and Dovi. 

By Colin Young

As printed in AMCN Vol 67 No 08