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It appears that is indeed a done deal, with his manager all but confirming the news on Italian radio.
Carlo Pernat told RAI Radio1’s Zona Cesarini programme, “Enea Bastianini will ride an official KTM next year.”
‘Official’ in MotoGP parlance refers to the latest-spec bike, the same as that which is fielded by the factory team.
Given the Austrian marque treats Tech3 as an extension of its own squad, and given Red Bull KTM Factory Racing is already full for 2025, that means ‘La Bestia’ is off to the Herve Poncharal-owned team which currently fields Pedro Acosta and Augusto Fernandez.
Acosta’s promotion to Red Bull KTM was confirmed at last weekend’s Italian MotoGP, meaning the Spanish rookie will take over the seat currently occupied by Miller.
The Queenslander had already admitted that was the logical play by KTM but argued that he is deserving of a GasGas berth given his contribution to the development of the RC16.
However, with Bastianini now apparently signed up, at least one of Miller and/or Fernandez will be searching for a new home in 2025.
KTM already has Brad Binder under contract for next season, with his manager recently claiming that the South African’s agreement ties him to the factory team despite it being thought that the four riders may be moved around as the manufacturer sees fit.
In any case, Miller admitted he is “on JobSeeker” in light of Acosta’s new contract.
The four-time MotoGP race winner was nevertheless “not too stressed” about landing a seat on the grid next year, and has also been linked to a return to the Honda ranks.
While Pernat has not weighed into that speculation, it should be noted that he predicted with “99 percent” confidence that Miller would exit the factory Ducati Team at the end of 2022.
That did indeed come to pass, with none other than Bastianini taking his ride, although ‘Thriller’ got his deal with KTM done before Ducati decided to promote ‘La Bestia’ from Gresini Racing rather than Jorge Martin from Pramac Racing.
