Jack Miller will continue to race for Pramac Racing for 2020 MotoGP as Ducati confirms factory bikes for both the riders.
After retaining Danilo Petrucci alongside Andrea Dovizioso for the 2020 MotoGP season in the factory Ducati team, the Italian manufacturer have confirmed the contract extension for Miller with Pramac.
The Australian will continue to race for the satellite team alongside Francesco Bagnaia as both the riders will get the latest Desmosedici GP20, same as Dovizioso and Petrucci – which is a first for Ducati.
“I am very happy to have reached this agreement. Pramac Racing is a team that made me feel comfortable right from the start and the relationship with Ducati is very close,” said Miller.
“I will have again the official bike at my disposal and will do my best to achieve great results. I would like to thank Ducati and my team for the great work they have done so far.”
Pramac team manager Francesco Guidotti said: “Our main goal is to grow young riders and give them the chance to ride the factory Ducati bike one day. Jack is proving to have great talent and his current position in the riders’ standings is confirmation of this.
“We are proud to have him with us also next season and we will now stay focused on our work to achieve even greater results in 2019.” At the same time, Ducati’s Sporting Director Paolo Ciabatti added:
“We are really glad to have reached an agreement with Pramac Racing that will allow our factory supported team to field Desmosedici GP 20 bikes for both Jack and Pecco next year.
“It will be the first time that Ducati will have four identical bikes in MotoGP, two for the factory Ducati Team and two for Pramac Racing: this exceptional effort will help us to collect and share more information and improve the development process, with the aim of obtaining even better results and stimulate a fair and positive competition among our riders.
“We are very pleased that Jack will continue with us next year, because he has shown continuous progress since he joined us in 2018, and want to thank Pramac Racing for their continued commitment to Ducati.”
The announcement comes after a rumour-filled weekend at Red Bull Ring, where Miller shed light on a shock Jorge Lorenzo-to-Ducati speculation. But with Lorenzo staying put – more or less – it was then a clear road for Miller.
The Australian was also linked to replace Johann Zarco at KTM in 2020 – who announced contract termination after 2019 – but the deal with Pramac and Ducati was already signed by then for anything to change.