Jack Miller: “We’ll put this bike in the cellar”, "excited to see" what Toprak Razgatlioglu can do

Jack Miller's debut Yamaha season finished as it had started - by taking the chequered flag as the top M1 rider in Sunday’s Valencia MotoGP finale.

The Australian, the leading Yamaha at the Thai Grand Prix opener, bounced back from Saturday’s penalty controversy to run as high as sixth.

But severe wheelspin punished his rear tyre and Miller slipped to ninth by the chequered flag.

“It was a good race, even though I suffered from having to push too much to stay with the guys,” Miller said. “In turns 1, 2, 6 and up to 8 the tyre was spinning massively, but you can‘t sacrifice anything there because the others aren‘t, and they‘re gaining.

“So we‘re spinning more than the others, with less acceleration. I tried to manage the left-hand side of the tyre on entry and control the way I was carrying the speed, but in the end, with ten laps to go, the tyre gave up and I was just bleeding time, trying to survive. We know the issues.”

Sunday also marked the final MotoGP outing for Yamaha’s Inline4 M1, with the manufacturer confirming a switch to the V4 for 2026.

Miller believes the transition will be smoother than the adjustment he made from KTM - with its carbon-fibre chassis and WP suspension - to this year’s Yamaha.

“Now we‘ll put this [Inline] bike in the cellar and start working on the new one to see what we can do. It won‘t be as big a step as the one I had during the year, going from what I knew [before] to this bike,” Miller said.

“Over the season we‘ve been up and down - some good highlights and some decent lowlights too - but in the last couple of races, since Australia, we‘ve managed to understand the front end a bit more.

“Maybe we lost a little in terms of outright performance, but we gained good feedback in stability and in managing the tyre. Now I understand this bike more and more.

“Next year‘s [V4] bike will be different, but the DNA is the same.”

Miller finished the season just 17th in the world championship, but as the second-best Yamaha behind Fabio Quartararo (ninth). Quartararo crashed out of eleventh in the closing stages of the Valencia MotoGP.

Miguel Oliveira a "fantastic rider", "excited to see" what Toprak can do

Sunday was also the final MotoGP race for Miller’s Pramac team-mate Miguel Oliveira.

“Finally, let me say goodbye and thank you to Miguel, who raced his last MotoGP race today. He has been a fantastic rider for this sport, and we‘ve shared great times together, as we‘ve been racing each other since we were kids,” Miller said.

“It‘s sad to see him leave the paddock, but I‘m looking forward to seeing his journey in Superbike. And I‘m ready to start working with Toprak: he‘s another fantastic rider, and I‘m excited to see what he can do.”

Reigning WorldSBK champion Toprak Razgatlioglu will ride alongside Miller and most of the 2026 grid during an official test at Valencia on Tuesday, then a private test on Wednesday.