Jack Miller’s barbed dig at riders missing fan events: “Nobody is above the rules”

Pramac MotoGP star Jack Miller says “nobody is above the rules” as he makes a pointed dig at riders missing promotional events, in the wake of a new penalty for this.

At the Indonesian Grand Prix, MotoGP informed riders that they would receive a €5000 fine for missing promotional events on race weekends, such as the ‘Hero Walk’ autograph session.

It comes after Marc Marquez sent a stunt double in his place in Japan to take part in a pre-race karting event, though the new rule is reportedly not solely influenced by this.

But the regulation has come under criticism from riders, who already feel like race weekends are becoming too stressful amid the change in format for 2027.

“We’re all in this together”

When asked for his opinion on the new fines for missing promotional events, Miller gave an explosive response, insisting that “nobody is above the rules”.

“I mean, if you’re supposed to be there, you’re supposed to be there,” Miller told reporters, including Crash, in Indonesia.

“I don’t think it’s for you to take upon yourself.

“If we are all in the trailer and we all get there together, what makes somebody so special that they think they can walk away and the rest of us all have to go and sign [autographs at the Hero Walk]?

“If we all walk away, we all look like c***s. So, nobody is above the rules. Nobody is above the rules, I believe.”

But Miller also added that the riders will have to start being paid more if they are expected to take on increased promotional activities.

“I understand that it’s more and more, but at some point they’re going to have to start paying us the other way, the riders,” he said.

“Because every time you do more and more stuff, the money gets less and less. That’s how it goes.”

Miller’s stance is contradictory

Miller has always acted as an ambassador for MotoGP and spoken openly in defence of it when there have been criticisms from riders.

But the Australian, who is leaving MotoGP for World Superbikes in 2027, where there are half the number of rounds and less demand on riders’ time, also said earlier in the Indonesia weekend that the show is what happens on track.

“They [the manufacturers] wanted, with more main races, less time on track, less mileage, is what I understand,” Miller said about the 2027 format.

“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.”

Marquez’s stance on missing the kart race in Japan was that he needed to ice his injured shoulder, having spent 10 extra minutes on the bike in an extended warm-up.

He argued that he is fighting for a championship and, as an athlete, that has to be the priority. He won the Japanese Grand Prix.

The question MotoGP faces now is whether there is genuinely more value in riders being seen out of their leathers than on their bikes.