Miller to Ducati Team for 2021?

Manager of the Pramac Racing Team that Miller currently rides for, Giudotti said the Aussie is “close” to securing a deal with the factory Ducati Team for next year, according to an interview conducted by motogp.com on 21 May.

Guidotti adds that the factory deal, should it go ahead, would be seen as repaying Miller’s faith after he rejected "a bunch of money" from KTM last year to stay with Pramac and Ducati. Giudotti believes that Miller is ready for the factory team and there is a strong desire from both sides to have 'Jackass' in all red from 2021 onwards.

“The most logical and normal situation is that Jack will go to the factory team,” said Guidotti. “He started with us with the goal of riding for the factory team. After a difficult first year, I think last year he showed a very good potential, he made a big step. We were waiting for this year to see one more improvement but, at the moment, there’s no chance for him to show that. (But) I think and Ducati as well think he has the potential.”

At the end of last season, Pramac Racing team signed a new deal with Ducati where the factory now has a say in the riders the satellite team employs.

“We used to be independent in the choice of our riders,” Giudotti explained. "Of course, we always informed Ducati and then involved them in the negotiations. The first step, the first approach to a new rider was done by us. Now, the first approach is done by Ducati because they wanted to make a plan in the medium to long term with young riders and they asked us if it was possible.

“Regarding Jack, they’re doing the negotiations and, as far as I know, it’s not done yet. But, of course, from both parties there is the intention to do the deal. I think it’s close."

Should the deal go ahead as Giudotti predicts, the next question is who Miller will replace in the factory team. It seems most likely that Danilo Petrucci will get the tap, despite contract renewal talks with Andrea Dovizioso stalling in recent days and rumours linking him with KTM for 2021.

Both Petrucci and Dovizioso’s contracts expire at the end of the 2020 season, but with no racing under the coronavirus pandemic, it’s been hard for the incumbents to make a case for retention and equally harder for potential replacements, like Miller, to prove they deserve a factory seat.

If Miller secures the factory ride, simply swapping seats with Petrucci is one possibility, with another seeing Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Jorge Martin moving up from Moto2 to ride with Pramac Racing. Guidotti says there are some other Moto2 riders in contention, with outside reports suggesting Lorenzo Baldassarri and even Remy Gardner are in the conversation.

For Petrucci, joining Aprilia (for the suspended Andrea Iannone) or a satellite team is a possibility, as is leaving MotoGP altogether to join Ducati’s World Superbike squad.

Confirmation on both the Ducati Team and Pramac Racing Team lineups for 2021 are expected in the coming days.

 Photos: Russell Colvin