Jack Miller backs Darryn Binder: “Why not take MotoGP opportunity?"

Jack Miller has thrown his support behind Darryn Binder following confirmation the South African will emulate his unprecedented leap from Moto3 to the 2022 MotoGP World Championship grid.

After weeks of speculation, Binder was formally confirmed in the withU RNF Yamaha team for next season, which is being rebranded from the Petronas SRT/Sprinta outfit the 23-year old currently races with in the quarter-litre class.

He will be paired with experienced 14-time race winner Andrea Dovizioso and join his KTM-signed older brother Brad on the 24-strong grid.

It is only the second time since Moto3 evolved from the 125GP class in 2012 that a rider has been giving a ‘double promotion’ into MotoGP, the first being Jack Miller, who raced the Open-spec LCR Honda in 2015.

Though Binder’s Moto3 form - one win in seven seasons of competition - doesn’t compare with Miller’s six wins over three seasons, the Australian is in full support of the South African, suggesting he would have been foolish not to take the opportunity presented to him. 

"I think all power to him. As I've stood by my whole MotoGP career, if you get the opportunity - this train doesn't come twice, if you know what I mean, for a lot of people," Miller said.

"If you've got the opportunity, you best get on and give it a crack because a lot of people don’t get to do this, they don't get to ride the fastest motorcycles in the world against the best riders in the world.

"So if you've got the opportunity, why not take it and if anyone can do it, I think it's Daz. He's got that wild style, he can ride a bike when it's moving around and what not. So I don’t think it'll be an issue.

"He's got plenty more experience on bigger bikes than I had when I moved to MotoGP, he's ridden Superbikes and 600s and stuff like that.

"But yeah, nothing can prepare you for one of these things [MotoGP], it's that far from everything else that you never know until you are here. So you best just try and get here."

Will lightning strike twice for RNF MotoGP team?

Razlan Razali’s RNF Racing - née Petronas SRT - have only been in MotoGP since 2019 but in three short years it has certainly made its presence felt, not only as a front runner, but as a keen talent spotter.

Entering the fray with the signing of Fabio Quartararo, though observers considered the Frenchman talented having broken records on the junior ladder prior to GP, many felt his star had waned during indifferent campaigns in Moto2 and Moto3.

However, two years later and that same rider is on the cusp of the 2021 MotoGP World Championship, Razali and Johan Stigefelt having taken the trouble to look beyond the results and consider a more data-led approach to deciding which riders best suited a MotoGP machine.

It is an approach that it hopes will  strike gold again with Binder, even if it must be pointed out he wasn’t exactly the first option after Franco Morbidelli was prematurely poached for the Factory team, Toprak Razgatlioglu turned it down and KTM resisted approaches for Raul Fernandez.

Even so, RNF would have had other safer options than Binder, but has clearly spotted something in the youngster from its time working with him to suggest he might get on with a MotoGP-spec bike more readily than his status suggests.

Indeed, Binder’s lanky frame and hustling style means he is probably crying out for a bigger bike than a Moto3 machine to show his full potential and he will no doubt be thankful to leave a series where results can be dictated more by timing and slipstream than by talent.

It’s still going to be a huge step for Binder, but so long as he doesn’t throw it into the gravel too often and no doubt follows the guidance of his brother, if expectations are modest, he has a chance to exceed them.