Jack Miller and the other hopefuls for the second factory seat will learn their MotoGP fates at Ducati next month.
The Australian is in a three-way competition with Jorge Martin and Enea Bastianini for a spot with Francesco Bagnaia in the Ducati Lenovo Team in 2023.
Martin was likely the favourite to win the ride at the start of the season, but he crashed in the races at Mandalika, Portimao, and Jerez.
Despite the fact that Bastianini has won many races and leads the championship while riding a Gresini Racing GP21 Desmosedici, it is plausible to assume that the GP22 fielded by Pramac and the factory team had an inferior package when the season began.
It remains to be seen whether this is still the case, but the tide appears to be turning after Bagnaia won the GP22 for the first time at Jerez last time out.
The MotoGP field continued in Jerez the next day for a post-race test, during which Ducati Corse sports director Paolo Ciabatti was asked about Martin and Bastianini on Sky Sport Italia.
He then set a timeline for the Bologna manufacturer’s 2023 lineup to be finalised.
“Ducati is definitely betting on them in the future,” he said of the two riders seeking to move into a factory seat. “There is only one place in the factory team, but the goal is to keep them both on a Ducati.”
“By June, the situation will clear up.”
Miller’s future is unclear at this time, however a return to Pramac remains a possibility.
When asked about a story that he was in talks with Honda outfit LCR on the television global broadcast last month in Portimao, factory team manager Davide Tardozzi said, “We don’t want to lose Jack.”
Miller later denied that such talks were taking place, and has previously remarked that he “wouldn’t mind” returning to Pramac. He spent three years at Ducati’s B team before being promoted to the official works team in 2021, but Pramac is already tightly integrated into the manufacturer’s bigger organisation.
What happens to Johann Zarco, who is currently residing at Pramac, is a fascinating subject.
Unlike Miller, Martin, and Bastianini, the Frenchman has not to win a MotoGP race in his career, yet he is now leading the title and rides the same GP22 motorcycle as them.
He is, however, much older than Martin and Bastianini, who are both 24, and Miller, who is 27, which could work against him despite his current form.
The 2022 MotoGP championship resumes this weekend at Zarco’s hometown of Le Mans.
