Miller has already been bumped from the factory team by the promotion of rookie sensation Pedro Acosta but had been in the mix to retain a seat within the KTM group at GasGas Tech3.
That now seems far less likely based on comments from Hubert Trunkenpolz, the Deputy Chairman of the board of directors at Pierer Mobility, as reported by Italian outlet GPOne.
“We hope for better results from Jack Miller and Augusto Fernandez during the next races,” he said.
“Our plan is to sign two riders for the GasGas Tech3 team who have achieved podium finishes in 2024.”
It is an ominous sign for Miller and Fernandez, the latter of whom is currently Acosta’s team-mate at GasGas Tech3.
They are 16th and 17th in the championship after a third of the season (seven rounds out of 20), and neither have a podium either in a grand prix Race or a Sprint.
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At least one will be ousted considering Enea Bastianini’s manager has all but ‘confirmed’ the Italian’s signing with KTM, after he was linked to one of the Tech3 seats by Speedcafe, with the already contracted Brad Binder to remain in the factory team in 2025.
However, the revelation from Trunkenpolz, whose family is the T in KTM, points to an increasing probability that both will exit the group at the end of the 2024 MotoGP season.
Whether it is a genuine plan setting a bar which Miller has the opportunity to clear or whether it is in fact a clue at a decision(s) already made is not clear.
However, the latter would seem the more likely with speculation that Viñales will in fact defect from Aprilia to the Austrian marque, while ‘Thriller’ has been linked to Honda.
As it stands, Viñales is the second-highest-ranked rider in the championship without a (publicly) confirmed deal for 2025, the other being Bastianini, who is two spots ahead in fourth on the table.
Bastianini has three grand prix podiums this year, including a second place last time out at Mugello, while ‘Top Gun’ has won a grand prix Race and two Sprints in 2024 already.
Viñales was expected to re-sign with Aprilia but it has thus far only announced the somewhat surprise deal with Jorge Martin, who had been in the race with Marc Marquez for the factory Ducati Team seat currently held by Bastianini.
Martin is essentially replacing the retiring Aleix Espargaro, though it now appears it will be all-change in the Noale marque’s factory team next year.
At struggling Honda, a seat is likely to be made available for Miller, who is respected for his development prowess, with Luca Marini reportedly trying to break his contract after failing to score a single point so far this year.
That the Queenslander would be dropped from KTM, assuming the decision is the manufacturer’s rather than his, speaks to a loss of patience and/or an opportunistic move considering it was only recently that Red Bull KTM Team Manager Francesco Guidotti said, “we would like for him to stay.”
The 2024 MotoGP season resumes on June 28-30 at Assen.
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