Australian rider Jack Miller has been warned to be careful of a possible early exit from KTM as Pedro Acosta grows in stature in Moto2. The Austrian brand is in an unenviable position where it has five contracted riders but only four seats on the grid. This is primarily because the brand has offered a seat to the Moto2 sensation.
Pedro Acosta is one name that every MotoGP pundit is keeping an eye on. There's a lot of buzz around what the rider might be capable of in the big leagues with many anointing him as a future superstar. In all of this, Jack Miller has all of a sudden suffered from a drop in performance at the team.
The rider has not looked comfortable and after the highs of a podium early in the season, Jack Miller has been more or less playing catchup with fellow KTM rider Brad Binder.
As a result, there have been suggestions that the Australian might be the one whose seat could be in danger. Pundit Neil Hodgson told TNT Sports that he feels a switch might be on the cards. He said:
“Jack is an incredible motorcycle racer. But it’s no coincidence that Jack’s dip in form is along the exact same timings as people talking about Pedro Acosta moving up to MotoGP with KTM. Which team is he going into? We all assumed the GASGAS team."
He added:
“But the rumors this weekend are that he’ll go into the KTM official team. He’s a once-in-a-decade talent, Acosta. If you’ve got him on your books, what do you do? If it was me, I’d be tempted to put him into the factory team.”
Jack Miller's contract can be tweaked and ripped up
Addressing the fact that Jack Miller does have a contract with KTM for next year, Neil did not think it mattered much because contracts can be overhauled. He also felt that a talent like Pedro Acosta would acquit himself on a factory bike without much difficulty. He said:
“I don’t think so. I think he’s that talented. I’m a massive Miller fan, we’re all good friends with him. But this is a business, it’s a pretty horrible business at times. Contracts can be tweaked, they can be ripped up."
He added:
“That’s what’s playing on Jack’s mind. You try harder, you go a bit slower, you change the bike, you get confused, you maybe lose a bit of trust in your team. Before you know it, this is MotoGP, and you’re battling outside of the points.”
It is an interesting musical chairs going on at KTM and it will be interesting to see the direction in which the team finally decides to go.
