MotoGP: Miller to make Pramac Ducati switch?

Jack Miller will make the switch from Honda machinery for the first time in his MotoGP career in 2018 as he makes the move to Pramac Ducati, joining Danilo Petrucci at the factory-supported satellite team according to MCN’s sources in the MotoGP paddock.

The news has been rumoured at for weeks, with the Australian reportedly given a headline of straight after the German Grand Prix to accept the offer of the Italian team – a decision that he made despite strong offers on the table from at least two factory teams for next season – but no official confirmation from either party looks likely this side of Miller’s debut at the Suzuka 8 Hour later this month on a full-factory Honda.

Miller has ridden for Honda since making the jump directly from the Moto3 class at the end of the 2014 season on a factory contract, first on the underpowered RCV1000 customer machine and then with the Marc VDS team.

He’s also finally started to repay Honda for their loyalty in 2017, finding the consistency that he’s been lacking up until now and running a below-the-radar campaign for top satellite status.

But, still struggling with the difficult-to-ride Honda RC213V despite the improvements made by the Japanese manufacturer over the last year or so – and hampered from properly using his aggressive riding style on a bike that forces him to be more conservative, the 22-year-old was tempted away by a strong offer from Pramac boss Francesco Guidotti to be GP17-mounted for next season instead.