Ducati MotoGP racer Jack Miller lifts a wheel on his Desmosedici race bike
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If you subscribe to Malcolm Gladwell’s idea that it takes 10,000 hours to truly master a complex skillset, then Ducati MotoGP racer Jack Miller got a serious head start when he took his first motorcycle ride at 3 years old.
Jack Miller rode his first motorcycle before he turned 3, and hasn’t stopped since
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That early exposure leads to an early passion for two-wheeled, motorized devices. And that passion, combined with supportive parents and a laser focus on constantly honing his craft, Jack Miller landed his first MotoGP ride at age 20. At 23 he joined Pramac Racing, a Ducati factory-supported team, and last year, at 26, Jack became an official Ducati factory rider for the 2021 MotoGP season. You can see his next race in Austin, Texas, on October 3rd.
We recently spoke with Jack Miller about why he became a motorcycle racer, how he trains between races, which win has meant the most, and what Ducati represents in the hyper-intense realm of MotoGP.
Jack Miller signed on as a Ducati factory racer for the 2021 MotoGP season
RUDY CAREZZEVOLI
What’s the Best Part of Being a Motorcycle Racer?
I’ve always felt drawn to riding a motorcycle. I’ve been riding motorcycles since I was about 3 years old, actually I wasn’t quite 3, and there was just something about it. Any chance I got as a kid, that’s all I wanted to do. Thank god I grew up on a farm and I was able to literally sneak out of the house, jump on my bike and disappear. It just gave me a sense of freedom.
And when you’re a kid you don’t really think about growing up and actually doing adulting, and getting a job. But through the help of my parents pushing me a little more, they saw how much I loved the sport and said, ‘Hey, you need to knuckle down and get into this’ because they obviously saw more in me than I did at that point in time, and they understood that you can make a job out of it. I look back at those times and think thank god they did that because I feel like the luckiest person in the world. I’m able to do this and I’m a professional now for nearly 10 years, and it’s been a fantastic job, taking me places in the world I never thought I’d go. All from running a motor bike. It’s the one thing that I picked up naturally. I can’t kick a ball or throw a ball that great. I think it was just meant to be.
A focus on competing and winning is what drove Jack to race at the MotoGP level
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When Did You Know You Wanted to Race Motorcycles?
As a kid, as soon as I started riding, I had an older brother and I was racing him and already beating him. And I wanted to find someone to race but we had no idea about motorcycle racing, so dad ended up working out how to get in there, and it just started like that. I just wanted to go and ride my bike with other kids that liked riding their bikes. I grew up riding motocross and always wanted to be a professional, but as a kid it’s kind of a dream. You understand that it’s so far away from being a reality.
You couldn’t really script it. It all happened so naturally, nothing was ever forced. We were just finding our way, because we had no idea where we were going with it, really. Just having the dedication, to be able to do something, and focus, and knowing you have to work for it and things don’t come easy. Plus I don’t like losing. Whether it’s Monopoly or whatever, I don’t like losing. I’m one of those guys that, if I can’t win I’ll find a way, figure out what I need to do.
Training between races includes bicycle and motocross riding
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How Do You Train to Stay at the Top of Your Game?
I used to do a lot of running, but I found the bicycle about 5 or 6 years ago, and I put quite a lot of hours on that throughout the week. Between that and riding various other motorcycles, whether I ride motocross dirt track or these smaller road bikes, because we can’t ride a MotoGP bike through the week. We’re fortunate enough with Ducati we have the Panigale V4S, and that has been an amazing tool for us to be able to train on. Pretty much as close as you can get to a MotoGP bike, and that helps a lot. The biggest thing is cardio and weight, so the bicycles have been a great tool for me.
Jack’s win this year at Jerez, Spain, is his more rewarding victory — so far
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What’s the Most Rewarding Win of Your Career, So Far?
Most rewarding win would have to be the one this year in Jerez, in the dry. Something I’ve worked so many hours, countless hours, to get to. And through so many ups and downs — injuries, that kind of thing. And I did things a little unconventionally where I went from Moto3 directly to MotoGP, and had a lot of doubters, a lot of people write me off. I had a win before that, but it was in the wet, and it’s still a win , it’s on my resume, but there’s always a question mark. There was no question mark on that day. All the boys were there — I was the best man on track, and afterwards the flood of emotion going through you. All the ups and downs, when you wanted to give up, you just forget them all and know ‘we made it’.
Joining the Ducati factory team meant getting one of those Ducati race suits
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What Defines Ducati’s Motorcycle Experience?
More than anything it’s got a sense of class. The prestige of it. It’s Ducati. Everyone knows what Ducati is. When people think of the bike to be on, or the fastest, they think Ducati. It’s elegance. It’s class. The crème de la crème — they don’t skimp on anything, everything is just the top of the top. And it’s just a phenomenal experience, whether you’re talking Panigale or the MotoGP bike. And it was such an honor this year, and something I always dreamed about, was getting that red leather suit. Just being able to hang it up in my house and say ‘hey, I was a factory Ducati rider’. You don’t even think about that sort of thing because it seems so far out of touch. But to be a part of that brand is just awesome.
The Desmosedici’s look and sound creates a unique experience for riders and spectators
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And Ducatis just sound so different. With the Desmo system it creates a whole different bark. And especially now with the V4, you know a Ducati over any other bike. And you can hear it, it’s aggressive and one of those things, like when a Ferrari starts up. There’s just something about it that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. The sound. The history. It’s a mega company to be associated with.