Jack Miller is leaving MotoGP for the World Superbike Championship, and Yamaha just handed him a factory seat.
The Australian signed a two-year contract covering 2027 and 2028, taking over for Xavi Vierge alongside Andrea Locatelli in the Pata Maxus Yamaha squad.
Why Yamaha Wanted Miller Specifically
Twelve years in MotoGP, four race wins, 23 podiums. Miller rode for Honda, Ducati, KTM, and Yamaha across that span, with a best championship finish of fourth in 2021.
But Yamaha’s interest goes beyond the numbers. WorldSBK switches from Pirelli to Michelin tires in 2027, and Miller has been racing on Michelins in MotoGP since 2016.
Almost no one in the current WorldSBK paddock has that kind of tire knowledge. Niccolò Canepa, Yamaha Motor Europe’s Road Racing Sporting Manager, called the signing an opportunity that was “too good to miss.”
Miller also brings prior experience with the R1. He finished second at the Suzuka 8-Hour in both 2025 and 2026, sharing the bike with Locatelli and Katsuyuki Nakasuga.
The Suzuka machine ran on Bridgestones, though, and the WorldSBK-spec R1 follows different technical rules. Miller acknowledged that gap, calling the WorldSBK version “a bit different” from what he rode in Japan.
What This Means for Yamaha’s WorldSBK Program
Yamaha has not won a WorldSBK race since Locatelli took victory at Assen in spring 2025. A fifth place stands as the team’s best result this year, while Ducati’s Nicolò Bulega has won every round but one.
The last Yamaha rider to claim the title was Toprak Razgatlıoğlu in 2021. Before that, Ben Spies in 2009 was the only other Yamaha champion in the series.
Miller arrives at a moment when the R1 has real ground to make up, but the grid is shifting. Bulega moves to MotoGP with VR46 Ducati in 2027, and other MotoGP riders are expected to follow Miller’s path to WorldSBK.
Back in MotoGP, his vacated Pramac Yamaha seat goes to Moto2 rider Izan Guevara. The rider market reshuffle touches both championships, and Yamaha now has a proven race winner leading its production-based racing effort.
Source: Motorcycle News, motorcycles.news
