Red Bull KTM’s Jack Miller will be replaced by reigning Moto2 World Champion Pedro Acosta at the factory KTM MotoGP team next season, and with his Grand Prix options dwindling the Australian seems resigned to 2024 being his last year in the champions💧hip.

Miller’s KTM tenure began at the beginning෴ of 2023, following his departure from Ducati along with a number𒀰 of engineers, including his crew chief Cristhian Pupulin.

Almost from the beginning, M▨iller was on a difficult path at KTM, as🙈 the rising prominence of Acosta put the Spaniard in the centre of KTM’s view of the future of its MotoGP project. 

When Acosta started the season with a podium in📖 his second premi꧃er class Grand Prix, it became clear that KTM would want Acosta to move into the factory team in 2025, and with Brad Binder already signed up until the end of 2026, only Miller would be moved to make space for the Murcian.

Miller’s impending departure from KTM leaves him with few options to remain in MotoGP beyond this November. By now, only the Pramac Yamaha seats and the r꧂ide alongside Raul Fernandez at Trackhouse Aprilia remain available to Miller.

Ai O🧜gura is currently strongly linked with the Tracꦺkhouse ride, while Miguel Oliveira is thought to be on the list for Pramac.

A WorldSBK future is also a possibi🔴lity for Miller, who after the MotoGP Sprint at Silverstone seemed unhopeful that his Grand Prix career will extend into next year.

“It’s all but o𝓡ver, so I just need to enjoy💟 these last few [races],” Miller said.

He added that it’s probably helping his performanc💃e, though.

“Generally, as they say, a happy rider is a fast rider and I think that could be the case,” said the Australian. “I’m not꧅ hyper-focused on what the future holds, just trying to enjoy the moment.”

Miller breaks down Vinales overtake

Miller’s Silverstone Sprint ended with him inඣ seventh place, thanks to a last lap pass on Maverick Vinales, after the factory Aprilไia rider passed Miller earlier in the race.

“When Vinales came by I was really trying to sink my teeth into those boys in front: Fabio Di𓂃 Giannantonio, [Alex] Marquez, Brad [Binder], and Pedro [Acosta], but I just c♛ouldn’t hang the pace.” Miller had chosen the medium-compound rear tyre, the only rider to do so, and so was losing out in acceleration.

“I was really risking it on the front end just trying to make up what I was losing in the drive areas, but I knew t🍸hat could be the case with the medium [rear] tyre,” Miller said.

“But when Vinales came past, he sort of had one lap that was hot and then he sort of threw the a𓆉nchor out a little bit. You could see that it was starting not to drive the best, he was having to pick up the gas early mid-corner.

“So, I was just biding my time, trying to find a ꦰdecent overtaking opportunity and saved it for the last lap, and I felt like the guys in front of me had almost done the same [as Vinales] as well, so I felt like I was riding back towards them as well in the last two laps.”

M𒐪iller’s pass on Vinales on the final lap to reclaim seventh was fairly sketchy. He explained: “I knew he was braking a little bit earlier than what I was at turn six, so I knew I had a little bit of margin there, but I got too carried away accelerating through turn four, just really trying to be there to attack at turn six, so I kind of lit it up too much and lost a little bit of the drive, so then it was a lunge from a little bit of distance.

“But I knew where my braking point was and whe𝄹re I knew I was going to be able to pull it up by, but I had to throw everything at it, obviously burying the rear brake and so on, it was one of those ones, just to try and hold the line, not to drift wide and get cut back on, so I was able to do so.”