Jack Peter Miller (born 18 January 1995) is an Australian Grand Prix motorcycle racer who rides for the Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP. He was the German 2011 IDM 125cc International Champion. Miller has won four races in the premier class, his first at the 2016 Dutch TT on a Marc VDS Honda, his second and third in consecutive weekends of May 2021, at Jerez, Spain, and Le Mans, France on a Ducati, and his fourth at the 2022 Motul Grand Prix of Japan, also on a Ducati. He has finished as the championship runner-up in the 2014 Moto3 World Championship. He is set to leave Pramac at the end of 2026 and he will move to the World Superbike Championship with Pata Maxus Yamaha.
Miller now uses the nickname 'Thriller', whereas earlier in his career he was known as 'Jackass'.
Contents
Career
Early career
Born in Townsville, Queensland, Australia, Miller grew up on a property outside the city. A tropical city where he made his own fun, riding his motorbike and quad bike, water skiing and lending a hand with fencing and cattle mustering. His parents and siblings have supported his racing career every step of the way, helping him reach his goal of racing in the World Championship. Miller has been racing motorbikes since he was eight years old, originally starting on dirt bikes, where he was the Australian Dirt Bike champion in the 65cc category in 2003. He went on to win five other Australian championships in 2005, 2006 and 2007 and numerous other local and state titles in dirt bike racing and motocross events.
2011 was his breakout year in Europe. A string of strong performances saw him win the championship in the German IDM 125cc category at the age of 16. This title won the attention of Caretta Technology's Forward Racing, an Italian race team who signed Miller to ride in the 2012 Moto3 Championship.
Moto3 World Championship (2012–2014)
2012 was Miller's first year in the Moto3 World Championship, riding for Caretta Technology Forward Racing on a Honda chassis. While the bike was not competitive, it allowed Miller the opportunity to learn the circuits he would be racing in the coming years. He finished 23rd in the Moto3 Championship that year with 17 points, and a best finish of fourth at the German Grand Prix, at the Sachsenring.
Miller moved to Racing Team Germany for the 2013 season, riding an FTR Honda chassis. Miller achieved 13 points-scoring finishes during the season, and finished in seventh place in the final championship standings. His best results were two fifth places, at the San Marino race, and his home Australian Grand Prix.
Miller moved to a factory-backed KTM motorcycle for the 2014 season, joining the Red Bull KTM Ajo team. He had a breakout season, recording his first fastest lap, pole position, podium finish and victory in the category. In total, he won six races during the season (Qatar, USA, France, Germany, Australia, and Valencia), and finished the season as runner-up to Álex Márquez in the championship, missing out on the title by just two points.
MotoGP World Championship (2015–2026)
For the 2015 season, Miller graduated into the MotoGP class, forming a part of an expanded two-rider Team LCR outfit, partnering Cal Crutchlow, and riding on an open specification Honda RC213V-RS. He achieved his best finish with 11th at Catalunya, following the British Grand Prix, where Miller moved up the order in the early stages, but collided with teammate Crutchlow on the third lap. Miller finished his rookie season in 19th place, with 17 points.
For the 2016 MotoGP World Championship, Miller moved to the Marc VDS Racing Team. Miller finished in 14th place at Qatar, and at Catalunya, he finished the race in a career best tenth place. On 26 June at Assen, Miller was running strongly in the top-ten, before the race was red flagged due to heavy rain. The race restarted for a 12 lap shootout, and Miller clung on to the leaders in the early laps. He was running in fourth by the end of lap 1, and inherited third when Andrea Dovizioso crashed, right behind factory Honda rider Marc Márquez. On lap 3, race leader Valentino Rossi crashed out, and a lap later Miller overtook Màrquez for the race lead. He held his nerve for the rest of the race and pulled away to claim his first premier class victory. He was the first Australian to win a MotoGP race since Casey Stoner in Australia 2012, and the first satellite rider to win a race since Toni Elias in Portugal in 2006. Miller's odds of winning going into the race were said to be 750–1, making it the biggest winning upset in MotoGP history. The rest of his season had mixed fortunes, with occasional speed being blighted by injuries, including a fractured vertebrae in Austria. He claimed three more top-ten finishes to end the year 18th in the standings, with 57 points.
Miller returned to the team for 2017, and although sometimes seemed to lack the raw pace from the previous season, he matured and became a more consistent points scorer. This fact was recognised by Honda, who gave him a chance to ride their factory bike at the Suzuka 8 Hours. He recorded nine top-ten finishes during the season, with a best finish of sixth coming twice at Assen, and in the wet at Misano. Despite breaking his leg whilst training before Japan, he returned for his home race in Australia and led the early laps. He finished the year 11th in the standings, with 82 points.
In 2018, Miller moved to Pramac Racing, now riding a Ducati, siding Danilo Petrucci. However, unlike the Italian, he had to stick with a 2017-spec bike. Nevertheless, the Australian scored two fourth places in Argentina and France, and a pole position in Argentina too, finishing the season in 13th position, with 91 points.
Superbike World Championship (2027–)
After leaving MotoGP, Miller is set to move to the Superbike World Championship with Pata Maxus Yamaha in 2027 on a two-year contract.
Australian Superbike Championship
Miller closed his 2021 journey with a podium in the final Australian Superbike (ASBK) race. After closing the MotoGP season with a podium at the Valencia GP, Miller, riding the Ducati Panigale V4R, started from second place in his debut appearance at The Bend Motorsport Park Circuit.
In the first race Miller experienced DNF when he was in fourth place behind fellow Ducati rider who later won ASBK 2021 Wayne Maxwell, Glenn Alerton and Lachlan Epis, but in race two he managed to finish and secure third place on the podium.
Miller had a 'last dance' with Ducati in Australian Superbikes. In the race, Miller used a Ducati motorcycle, even though he was part of KTM and already had conducted tests with the RC-16. However, the Panigale V4R remained Miller's mainstay at ASBK.
Suzuka 8 Hours
In 2025, Miller tested at Suzuka Circuit ahead of 8-Hour Endurance Race, and missed Brno MotoGP test. He completed a crucial test at the Suzuka Circuit on the factory Yamaha YZF-R1. This test was part of his preparation for the prestigious Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race in early August, the 46th edition of the FIM Endurance World Championship “Coca-Cola” Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Road Race. The free private test at Suzuka was a crucial opportunity for Miller. He was not alone on the track; he was supported by Japanese Yamaha veteran Katsuyuki Nakasuga and Italian rider Andrea Locatelli, who also tested at Suzuka. In addition to familiarizing himself with the track, the pit stop and rider handover aspects were the main focus, new areas that they intensively practiced.
Personal life
In early October 2022, Miller travelled from the far-Eastern World Championship motorcycle racing venues to be married in Australia. On 15 October 2022, turn four at the Phillip Island racing circuit was renamed from Honda Corner to Miller Corner.
Nicknames
In his early grands prix career in Moto3, Miller was described as 'Jackass', when he also was an exponent of 'goon riding'. In the later stages of his race career, having risen to the MotoGP class, his nickname changed to 'Thriller'.
Career statistics
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Australian Superbike Championship
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)