Miller: 2020 Pramac deal more or less in place

Jack Miller has revealed a deal that will see him extend his stay with Pramac Ducati for 2020 is “more or less” in place after a weekend of extreme emotions for the Australian.

Despite believing a delay in a contract renewal was solely due to financial issues, the 24-year old Miller was told on Thursday top Ducati management was considering a move that could sensationally place Jorge Lorenzo in his seat.

But the arrival of Pramac team owner Paolo Campinoti at the Red Bull Ring on Sunday appeared to accelerate Miller’s renewal, which will ensure he competes alongside current team-mate Francesco Bagnaia on a GP20.

“I think everything should be cleared up in the next hours or days, so we'll see,” Miller told reporters on Sunday afternoon. “I think we should have a clear answer for you at least by tomorrow [Monday].”

The sensational news that Johann Zarco asked to be relieved from his factory KTM contract at the close of 2019 meant KTM was a factory that, according to German website Speedweek.com, was prepared to give Miller a new home.

“I had other options, other places,” confirmed Miller. “But my main goal was to stay here, we have just started arriving on the podium, and I think we are going to get there more and more in the not so distant future, and I want to keep that going.

“I've been working my arse off to get to this point, and I don't want to take a step back now.”

Pramac team boss Francesco Guidotti was later asked by Crash.net whether the contract extension was “more or less” in place. “Finally,” came the response.

It appears to be a happy end to a weekend in which Miller “wasted” a “solid podium” chance on Sunday. The 24-year old started well and was sat in fourth place, attempting to pass Fabio Quartararo when he crashed out at turn nine. "Gutted" was his reaction to the fall.

“I had to go past two rows,” he said of the race start. “I just watched Marc [Marquez] sort of block Dovi [Andrea Dovizioso] out at turn three, but I could see them going long, long, long. I just turned under, and then Marc sort of came back on me.

“Then I just held my ground. [Alex] Rins was a little bit aggressive on the first lap. Got back past him, felt really comfortable, settled into my rhythm. Marc was trying to go around me a fair bit, and I was just braking at my normal spots, trying to block the line a little bit.

“I felt there it could help us a little bit, because generally his strongest point is the opening laps, he gets that gap, so I was just trying to do the best I could to slow him down in those first couple of laps.

“And then we just settled into the rhythm. I got close to Fabio at turn four, and nearly crashed into him. It seems like that Yamaha stays straight and decelerates a little quicker than what we do, so I was like coming towards him, lifting the rear, lifting the rear, and then thought, 'I'll just go a little wide.'

“I lost maybe half a second, but I was able to catch it back really quickly. I was just managing the tyres, especially through turn eight and through four and five, just not spinning that right hand side of the tire, and trying to save it for the end of the race.

“I came out of turn eight, had a little shake and missed the braking point by about two metres and was about two metres wide into the second-last corner, and I crashed. I was on the dirty stuff and I just lost the front.

“I know exactly what happened and what I did wrong, and this is what makes it even worse. I felt everywhere really in control, I was managing the rear tire a lot, and I felt good for the end of the race. It's a real shame

“So [I’m] gutted today, to be honest, because it was a solid podium that we wasted. A small mistake with big consequences. I could have let the brakes off, rolled outside onto the green stuff, and maybe lost a second, and then come back in, worked my way back through. But it wasn't to be today.”

Did he feel the weekend’s events proved to be a distraction ahead of Sunday’s 28-lap race?

“I felt I had a pretty clear mind,” Miller said. “I mean, I had one job that I needed to do, so I'm not going to use that as an excuse. For sure, don't get me wrong, it's on my mind, but that didn't factor in to today's result.”