It’s no secret that 2024 marked a career crisis for Australian MotoGP export Jack Miller. An incredibly difficult season combined with a decade of competing in the sport’s premier category left questions as to whether the future generation was on track to pass the experienced racer by. A lifeline with the Prima Pramac Yamaha team, however, has breathed new life into the 30-year-old’s career this year, and he’s already making the most of it.

At the lowest of lows last year, Miller was on the ropes, holding on to a glimmer of self-belief that the secret sauce was still there, even though weekends of DNFs and underwhelming performances accumulated. It’s a difficult game at times, and while KTM’s RC16 was recognised as a handful to hang on to, then-teammate Brad Binder seemed to make it work – enough so that the South African put 130 points between himself and Miller by season’s end.

Throw in MotoGP rookie Pedro Acosta, who was part of the satellite GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 team, finishing sixth overall with a series of brilliant performances, and any question of the bike’s capabilities were difficult to verify with such rides from the other riders in the stable.

Image: Supplied.

Put simply, it wasn’t looking good. Effectively ousted from the KTM marquee after the manufacturer moved fast to promote Acosta to the premier Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team for 2025 while collecting both Enea Bastianini and Maverick Vinales for the satellite Red Bull KTM Tech3 team, Miller was left in a free market where open seats were scarce.

It was then that a lifeline emerged – a one-year contract with a team Miller was familiar with – Prima Pramac – although the Yamaha machinery was a question mark, and if not competitive, would perhaps be the nail in the coffin for his MotoGP career.

So far, for the 2025 season, the change is looking promising, with a fifth-place finish at the Americas GP on Sunday a much-needed result to validate the Queenslander’s ability as he reaches the latter stages of a decorated career.

Image: Supplied.

“It was a good day for us,” Miller commented after Austin. “We had a solid pace throughout the entire race after a strong start, where I also managed to stay out of trouble at turn one. The bike was behaving well, and I was trying to get the maximum out of it. We definitely made some improvements from Saturday. I really hope we can continue this trend, and I‘m looking forward to Qatar, where, in dry conditions, we can keep working and making progress to improve the bike even further. 

“I‘m also very happy for the entire Prima Pramac Yamaha team. They work so hard every day to give me a great bike, and they deserve a day like this. The atmosphere is so amazing that it just makes me want to give them more and more.”

Image: Supplied.

An amazing atmosphere, as most could see from the outside in, wasn’t on the cards during last year’s season for the number 43. However, a revitalisation of sorts appears to be in the air with the new team this year, and though he’s still on a single-year contract, rides and results like Austin make it hard to deny that Miller is still a top-level contender.

They say change is as good as a holiday, and although we’re only three rounds into this year’s World Championship season, things are looking up for Miller – perhaps enough so that we see him on the grid for many years to come.