How a Jack Miller MotoGP departure could affect Alvaro Bautista

Jack Miller could be set for a move from MotoGP to WorldSBK, with potential ramifications for Alvaro Bautista.

Miller has raced for the Pramac Yamaha team for the past two seasons in MotoGP, but he does not have a contract for 2027 and the Italian team have Izan Guevara – who tested the YZR-M1 at Valencia last November – waiting to step up from Moto2 to join Toprak Razgatlioglu next season.

That would mean Miller would be out of Yamaha’s MotoGP project and possibly out of the championship altogether given the lack of seats available at present.

A move to WorldSBK could therefore materialise for Miller, and potentially one that could keep him in the Yamaha family. 

According to Motosprint, a move for Miller to WorldSBK could see him slot into the Pata Yamaha team, whose deal with the Italian crisp company expires at the end of this season, and which could therefore benefit from bringing in a major name like Miller. At the same time, holding onto the Pata sponsorship would allow Yamaha to fulfil Miller’s salary demands, which Motosprint reports to be €1 million.

Miller has already proved his worth to Yamaha in the Suzuka 8 Hours, with podium finishes in the past two seasons alongside Andrea Locatelli and Katsuyuki Nakasuga on the factory YZF-R1.

It would also be Locatelli with whom Miller would share the Yamaha WorldSBK garage in 2026, since it is the Italian, and not Xavi Vierge, who has a contract already secured for 2027.

Vierge’s departure from Yamaha is where Alvaro Bautista gets affected, with Motosprint reporting that the Spanish rider would try to find himself on a Barni Ducati for next season. Since Yari Montella is already signed by the Italian satellite team, only Bautista could be sacrificed for the one-time WorldSBK podium finisher.

As for Bautista, the signals suggest that he intends to remain on the WorldSBK grid in 2027.

After the new rules ‘roadmap’ was announced by WorldSBK earlier this week, Bautista posted on X complaining that the upcoming rule changes do not include a removal of the minimum weight rule that he has been vocally opposed to since the middle of 2025 in particular.