Jack ‘Jackass’ Miller Is the Shoey-Drinking Young Rev-Head Leading Australia’s MotoGP Resurgence

He's the 21-year old Townsville lad that grew up paddock bashing on dirt bikes and quads. Today Jack Miller celebrates his wins with "shoeys" of Moet on the podium and is fast developing a reputation as one of the boldest and most aggressive riders in the world. With the nickname "Jackass" emblazoned across the back of his racing helmet, he is taking the fight to World Champions in one of the deadliest sports in the world. His attempts to overthrow the established guard of the MotoGP have been laughed off by journalists and rivals, but that's just rocket-fuel for this young Aussie rev-head.

When Australia's last world champion Casey Stoner took the chequered flag in his final MotoGP race in 2012, a 17 year old Jack Miller was in pit-lane having just finished a disappointing 21st in his Moto3 category. It was a melancholy moment for Aussie motorcycling fans as the Stoner glory-days were behind us and the Europeans began to seriously dominate results.

Fast forward four years and our very own Jack Miller can proudly say he's a MotoGP winner, following a heroic performance at a rain-soaked Dutch Tourist Trophy (TT) followed by another win at

The stars aligned for Jack, it was the first time the Dutch TT was held on a Sunday in its 86-year history, a superstitious hint at the change about to strike the sport of MotoGP.

It was the 21-year old's turn to win.

Racing at the Assen circuit was stopped in the 14th lap due to a typically European downpour. When racing restarted, riders were left with a shortened 12-lap sprint to the finish, with Rossi battling Dovizioso, Petrucci and Redding for the lead. Rossi and Dovizioso soon took a tumble, and the race was now between Italian prodigal-son Marq Marquez and Jack Miller.

Jack saw his opportunity and making a move that left the Spanish wonder-kid and two-time champ in his wake. Miller piloted team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS to take out the chequered flag of the 2016 Dutch TT in just his second year on the MotoGP fixture.

Many traditional MotoGP (mostly European) supporters will tell you the weather decided the outcome, with the clusterfuck of tyre choices and subsequent madness playing a pivotal role in the win. Others will argue, quite rightly, that Miller was able to maintain control of his bike in some seriously challenging conditions (looking at you Rossi & Dovizioso), and earned the win fair and square.

At the press conference following his first MotoGP win, Jack said:

"Coming up through from Moto3 into MotoGP was a big step, but this makes it clear that we do know how to ride a motorbike and I'm not an idiot," (We'll get to the idiot reference soon)

"It gives Honda something back for taking such a big gamble on me and the risks those guys have taken to bring me through from Moto3 with the amount of criticism they have taken, and the amount of criticism I have taken." He concluded.

As you can probably guess, Jack's had a pretty rapid rise to prominence. He first tasted victory when he was just eight claiming the Australian Dirt Bike championship back in 2003. Five more Australian championships followed before Jack made on his way to Europe where he took out the German IDM 125cc category at just 16-years old, putting him firmly in the sights of the Caretta Forward Racing team who signed him to race the Moto3 category in 2012.

Miller—riding a less-powerful bike that couldn't keep up with the competition—finished 23rd overall in the championship with his best result a 4th. While disappointing, Jack was able to familiarize himself with the high-paced circuits that he would soon be screaming down on a MotoGP superbike.

It is important to note that—if you're unaware of a MotoGP bike's speed—they can reach up to 350km/h and are only limited in the corners by the bravery/lunacy of the rider.

After his hugely successful year in 2014 where he missed out on the title by just two points, Miller received the call from the big-dogs: MotoGP. Riding for Team LCR, Jack's inaugural MotoGP season culminated in a best result of 11th at the Spanish TT at Catalunya.

He continued this steady improvement with solid results in the 2016 season, racking up his first MotoGP win in just 25 races, an almost unprecedented feat.

As a result of his stratospheric rise to MotoGP, Miller cops a lot of shit for skipping Moto2 and heading straight to the big leagues without paying his dues. As a result, he's one of the most controversial and polarizing figure in MotoGP racing today, in only his 2nd year.

This argument seems redundant anyway, considering that the finishing-line doesn't care whether or not you've adhered to the intertwine of bureaucracy and racing.

While he's seen as a bit of a young prick by the older generation, he's undeniably developing quite the solid fan-base. Especially considering he's now begun stealing wins away from the sport's most iconic figures.

MotoGP's hegemonic figures come in the form of Italian legend Valentino Rossi, Marq Marquez, Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo, none of which could at this stage be laxed with Jack's rise to prominence. To give you some kind of idea of the dominance, in 150 races since 2008, all but three races have been taken out by this small group (Including the retired Casey Stoner).

You see, when it comes to MotoGP, the Europeans don't like to share. Especially not with a 21-year old Aussie who's happy to give them the one-fingered salute when he passes them.

He's been painted, quite condescendingly may we add, as the "clown" of MotoGP, but also praised for a no bullshit approach to the politics that accompany racing on motorcycling's largest stage.

Jack tells Neil hodgson what he thinks of him

When Journalist Neil Hodgson told Jack in a pre-race interview he thought a top-10 finish was a bit optimistic, Jack replied "You're a bit of a wanker if you thought that aren't you?"

As a direct result, there's a lot of people hailing Miller for being a breath of fresh air in the sport. It's hard to imagine Valentino Rossi celebrating on the podium by kissing a Swedish supermodel and continuing on to drink champers from his boot.

It's hard not to respect someone who says his only pre-race ritual is to "do a poo before the race to get nice and light, that's about it."

Peter, Jack's Dad has said that Jack managed to break around 30 bones by the time he was 14, so there's no questioning his willingness to push himself. Last year, in order to stay in touch with the pack, Miller had to race MotoGP with two fractured humeruses. He essentially raced (several races) with two broken arms. He won the Dutch TT like that. Have a think of that next time you see a professional football player hit the deck in the penalty box.

The thing is, the more negativity the sport throws at him, the more ammo their handing to Jack. Have you ever been in a sledging match with a Townsville local? They're not giving up in a hurry, and that's exactly the kind of hard-as-nails character you need to survive and thrive in an environment like the MotoGP championship. Expect to see more shoeys of Moët on the podium.

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