Honda career lifeline lost for Jack Miller after MotoGP champion’s shock re-signing

DOHA, QATAR - FEBRUARY 20: Joan Mir of Spain and Repsol Honda Team looks on in box during the Qatar MotoGP Official Test at Losail Circuit on February 20, 2024 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images)
DOHA, QATAR - FEBRUARY 20: Joan Mir of Spain and Repsol Honda Team looks on in box during the Qatar MotoGP Official Test at Losail Circuit on February 20, 2024 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Matt Clayton from Fox Sports

Jack Miller’s chance of a Honda reunion to extend his MotoGP career has been scrapped, with 2020 world champion Joan Mir set to re-sign with the factory HRC outfit for the next two seasons.

Miller, a Honda rider from 2015-17, was considered an option to replace Mir if the Spaniard elected to sever ties with the manufacturer after two miserable crash-strewn seasons since his move from Suzuki at the end of 2022.

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Mir’s future looked to be elsewhere after his stinging criticism of Honda following the post-race test after the Italian Grand Prix in early June, where he commented that “nobody comes out of Honda in a better way than they came in.”

However, Mir’s unexpected extension of his tenure at Honda until the end of 2026, first reported by motorsport.com, shuts down another potential lifeline for Miller, after the Australian was replaced by Spanish rookie sensation Pedro Acosta at KTM for 2025 and overlooked for Enea Bastianini and Maverick Vinales at its second Tech3 outfit last week.

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Honda already has Luca Marini (Mir’s teammate at Repsol Honda) and Johann Zarco (LCR Honda) signed for 2025, with the fourth Honda on the grid – currently occupied by Japanese rider Takaaki Nakagami – typically set aside for a Japanese rider for brand and sponsorship considerations with Idemitsu.

With seats on the 2025 grid filling up fast, available vacancies for Miller are few, with his former team Pramac Racing contemplating a move from Ducati to Yamaha machinery for next season, and Miller having no previous ties to the Japanese brand.

Mir staying with Honda closes another door for Miller in his quest to stay on the 2025 grid. (Photo by Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

Yamaha’s factory team already has 2021 world champion Fabio Quartararo in place for the next two years. The Frenchman’s teammate, Alex Rins, is off contract at the end of this season and in 20th place in the riders’ championship, the Spaniard struggling with the aftermath of a badly broken leg from a crash in Italy in 2023.

Miller, in his 10th MotoGP campaign, has scored just 27 points in 2024 to sit in 16th place in the standings after seven rounds.

The 29-year-old is on track for his worst season since he finished 18th in his sophomore season in 2016, and has just one top-five finish – in Portugal in round two – this year.