Miller signs Marc VDS deal for 2016
Australian MotoGP rider Jack Miller will race for the Marc VDS Racing Team next season, securing a seat on one of the team’s factory Hondas.
Photo by: Red Bull GmbH and GEPA pictures GmbH
The much-expected news was confirmed on Thursday, as the 20-year-old gears up to tackle his home race at Phillip Island on a MotoGP bike for the first time having made the leap directly from Moto3 this year.
Miller, who moves across from the LCR Honda team, will be joined at Marc VDS by current chief engineer Cristian Gabarrini, who used to work alongside Casey Stoner.
“I am very enthusiastic on this possibility with Honda and the Marc VDS Racing Team,” said Miller, whose best result of the season so far has been 11th at Catalunya.
“I know Marc VDS is a good, strong and experienced team, and they can build a good structure for me to fight for good positions next year.
“As we both have already one year of experience from the top class, I feel that we can gain from the experiences we have to achieve good results together with Honda.”
“It’s good to be able to finally welcome Jack to the Marc VDS Racing Team,” added team principal Michael Bartholemy.
“We wanted Jack in 2013 because we could see he had the talent to succeed and that hasn’t changed.
“This was always going to be a difficult transition season for him, having jumped straight onto the MotoGP bike from Moto3, but he’s done a solid job so far.
“Next year Jack will benefit from having the Marc VDS Racing Team behind him and, together with a competitive bike, I’m confident that this is exactly what he needs to realise his full potential.”
Miller is Marc VDS’s second signing for 2016, the Belgian squad expanding to a second bike having run only the Pramac Ducati-bound Scott Redding this season.
Last year's Moto2 champion Esteve Rabat’s place in the squad had already been confirmed, Franco Morbidelli taking over the Spaniard's seat with the team in the intermediate class alongside Alex Marquez.
Miller's confirmation leaves just one guaranteed seat up for grabs on the 2016 grid at the Aspar team, which is expected to be retained by the Spanish squad's current rider Eugene Laverty.
2016 MotoGP line-up so far
Riders in italics have yet to be confirmed
| Movistar Yamaha |
|
| Repsol Honda |
|
| Ducati |
|
| Suzuki |
|
| Aprilia |
|
| Tech 3 Yamaha |
|
| LCR Honda |  Cal Crutchlow |
| Marc VDS Honda |
|
| Pramac Ducati |
|
| Avintia Ducati |
|
| Aspar Ducati |
|
Valentino Rossi
Jorge Lorenzo
Stefan Bradl
Jack Miller
Loris Baz
Yonny Hernandez
Eugene LavertyBe part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Toby Price explains 'unfortunate' Mitsubishi split
Supercars parity review begins
Why Courtney and Tickford are a dream match
Miller "can only wish to ride" KTM like MotoGP rookie Acosta
Aero "last piece of puzzle" in MotoGP bike development, says Miller
Why the most significant Le Mans MotoGP performance wasn't Miller's
F1 live: Follow Chinese GP practice as it happens
How real-time scrutineering ensures fair and consistent competition in motorsport
The day Button scored his 'best F1 win'... until next time!
New compound to thwart Porsche’s inspired Long Beach ‘no tires’ call
Can anyone stop "changed" Bagnaia as Ducati tightens its grip on MotoGP?
The signs that MotoGP's Japanese powerhouses are changing
The other Suzuki signing that could transform Honda's MotoGP form
How the MotoGP paddock has offered refuge to Suzuki's former team
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments