“Jack Miller can beat Marc Marquez to MotoGP title” – Cal Crutchlow

Cal Crutchlow has talked up his MotoGP rival and good friend Jack Miller following confirmation he will step up to the factory Ducati Team for the 2021 MotoGP World Championship, saying he has the talent to defeat Marc Marquez for titles.

The Australian will follow in the footsteps of Troy Bayliss and Casey Stoner when he completes the move from the Pramac Racing team ahead of the 2021 season. He is expected to be partnered with Andrea Dovizioso, who has finished runner-up to Marquez for the past three seasons.

However, Crutchlow – who races alongside Marquez in the Honda stable – believes Miller has the abilities to go one better than Dovizioso by taking the fight to the dominant six-time MotoGP title-winning Spaniard when they go toe-to-toe on factory machinery for the first time.

“Jack Miller is one of the only guys here that has the talent to beat Marc over a season,” he told the Australian MotoGP Facebook page in an interview. 

“Talent on a motorcycle, he definitely has it and I believe he has as much as anyone in this Championship, and I see him as the guy who can take the step up and take the fight to Marc over the next few years.”

Crutchlow goes on to joke that he’d be willing to work in Miller’s corner when he retires from the sport given he knows more about Marquez’s secrets on the bike than others.

“He’s the right rider to do it I believe, and I think he can – when I retire and I'll guide him. But that’s up to him, whether he wants me to do that for him or not.”

Unfortunately for fans, the announcement of Miller’s promotion comes in tandem with news the 2020 Australian MotoGP race has now been cancelled amid a shake up of this year’s calendar.

Can Jack Miller take the fight to Marc Marquez?

Compared to some on the MotoGP grid, many feel Jack Miller – together with perhaps Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins – still has a lot more to show on a MotoGP bike.

While he has been in MotoGP for five years now, it’s easy to forget that Miller was thrown into the deep end when he stepped up to the top class from Moto3 and he certainly hasn’t disgraced himself, even if progress has perhaps been slower than many would have hoped.

However, Miller has begun to hit his stride over the past twelve months, culminating in him becoming a regular front-runner towards the end of 2019.

That run of form came after an error-prone start to the year – one that very nearly cost him his seat at Pramac as Jorge Lorenzo began sniffing round for options – but you could almost see the moment everything clicked for Miller mentally as cut out of the mistakes and focused on the consistency he needed to impress top brass.

One would expect him to continue that trend in the factory Ducati outfit, though the team hasn’t always been the most nurturing place for developing riders and he knows he’ll need to hit the ground running if he is to hold onto his place with the likes of Pecco Bagnaia and whichever Moto2 graduate it promotes to Pramac looming large for 2022.

It’s no coincidence Ducati retained some insurance with a 1+1 deal…

Without a doubt Miller has the aggression to take it to Marquez in a straight fight, while he is arguably the best qualifier in Ducati’s stable. However, it now remains to be seen if he has the consistency to do it over a season. 

In fact, he’s arguably the opposite of Dovizioso…