Jack Miller has been denied a chance to race in MotoGP in front of his home Australian fans for the past two seasons as Covid restrictions forced the cancellation of the Phillip Island race.
But he will appear as a surprise guest in the final round of the Australian Superbike Championship next weekend at The Bend Motorsport Park, riding for the Desmosport Ducati team.
“I came up with the idea because Troy Herfoss was injured and then Hooky [Josh Hook] wanted to drive it and I was like, ‘What date is it?’ And it kind of struck me that maybe I could make it home,” said Miller during the recent MotoGP test at Jerez.
“Then I had to do everything I could to let myself go and hang out with the guys. I managed to argue everything together. I think it’s the most organized thing I’ve ever been in terms of organizing something We’ll wait and see until we actually get there and get going…
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“I’m really looking forward to meeting everyone and seeing The Bend as a brand new track in Australia, I’ve never been there. And also trying out the V4R for the first time because I’ve never driven one.”
Those Miller will be up against include Ducati title leader Wayne Maxwell, as well as Oli Bayiss (son of Troy) and former Grand Prix starters Bryan Staring, Mike Jones and Arthur Sissis.
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Miller claimed his first dry MotoGP wins of the season en route to a best-ever fourth overall in the World Championship during his debut campaign for the factory Ducati team.
The 26-year-old will be one of two Australians to compete in the premier class next season with the arrival of reigning Moto2 champion Remy Gardner.
Gardner is spending the off-season in Spain, where he will be “working on my cars in my workshop” until the Sepang test in January.