Jack Miller: “Riding is the show”, warns MotoGP “needs a warm-up” in 2027

Jack Miller may not be part of MotoGP’s revised 2027 race weekend format, but he has strong views on what a Grand Prix event should prioritise.

MotoGP will introduce a separate Sprint qualifying session on Friday afternoon next season, while every rider will then take part in Q1 to set the Grand Prix grid.

Practice time will also be reduced, including the controversial removal of Sunday warm-up.

“From what I understand, it came from the manufacturers,” Miller said at Mandalika on Thursday.

“They wanted, with more main races, less time on track, less mileage, is what I understand.

“But at the same time, the racing itself is the show. Us riding the bikes, are the show. The other sh*t around it gets misconstrued that we're here to be entertainers, which we are, but our entertainment is racing a motorcycle.”

While Pedro Acosta highlighted the increased injury risk from adding another all-out qualifying session, Miller believes reducing practice time can also make things more dangerous.

“Already now, we're sending it with an hour and a half on track, in the last 15 minutes of [Friday] Practice. But you've had a little bit of time to somewhat get the bike right, get the track clean and get it into a decent situation.

“But [now] you're just getting less time on track, and still going to send it just the same.

“I understand they want to try and make changes. There's many suggestions on what you could do to maybe make it a little bit more, f**k, interesting.

“Do I think shortening time on track is going to make the spectacle more? No.

“The different qualifying positions just makes it harder and harder to keep up with what the f**k is going on, I believe, more than anything.”

“MotoGP needs a warm-up”

Miller reserved his strongest criticism for the removal of Sunday warm-up, which will be replaced by ten minutes of pre-race sighting laps.

“You need a warm-up. I said that to the guys here, even to Carlos [Ezpeleta] the other day, I said it plain and simple. These bikes aren't a Moto2 or Moto3. You need, first of all, to ride it: ‘Yeah, but then you have like Diggia the other week that crashed a bike in the warm-up’. 

"Yeah, so be it, but it also is a thing for the riders to get out there. We're not in a car, this is the most physical, demanding motorsport there is, I believe, hands down.

“We’re all top-level athletes, training every day of the week to try and be better, and we stand in the trailer on Sunday morning at a track like Malaysia doing the parade lap, and everybody's rubbing their biceps because your biceps are essentially tearing from the bone.

“We are literally all standing there saying how sore our arms are, and to take away warm-up…”

Miller suggests two-day MotoGP weekend

Rather than simply cutting practice sessions, Miller believes MotoGP could have looked at condensing the entire Grand Prix event into two days.

“I think a two-day format or something like that could be good, but you’d need to cram it into two days,” he said.

“Just for an average punter, it's difficult to get away for three days over the weekend, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.”

Miller will join Franco Morbidelli and Brad Binder in switching from MotoGP to the WorldSBK championship in 2027.