Australian rider Jack Miller has bid an emotional farewell to his MotoGP team Pramac Racing, after finishing second in the season-ending Portuguese Grand Prix.
Miller trailed Portugal's Miguel Oliveira (KTM) and prevailed in another sensational battle with Franco Morbidelli (Yamaha) while claiming his fourth podium of the season.
Having marked himself as an elite rider, Miller will join Ducati's factory team for next season. Yet he will never forget how he got there.
"They've been some furious, fast-paced races, these last couple and to be back up here on the podium is a great way to finish off my chapter here in Pramac Racing," Miller said.
"Over the past three years, I've grown a lot as a rider and also as a human, as a man. I appreciate everything they've done for me so, so much.
"[Pramac CEO] Paolo Campinoti, [team manager] Francesco Guidotti, the life lessons they've taught me both on and off track have been irreplaceable and stuff that I'll carry through for the rest of my life. I can't thank those guys enough, from the bottom of my heart."
Miller was well beaten by a lightning-fast Oliveira at Algarve to conclude a season of near-misses. It was his third second-place finish this year and he is yet to add to his lone MotoGP win, an astonishing 2016 victory on a privateer Honda at the Dutch TT.
He is bullish about his chances for next season. Spain's Joan Mir (Suzuki) was world champion this season but Miller, seventh in the standings, suggested that he was shooting for the very top on his new ride with Ducati.
"Really happy to finish the season off like this and going into next year in the red colours on a high note like this is just incredible," he said.
"There have been so many positives but like many of us, I think we're going to look back and think what could have been.
"It's the season of what could have been. I've had my share of bad luck, I've made my mistakes and whatnot but so has everybody.
"I don't even know where I finished off in the championship … seventh, was it? Not too bad, considering four DNFs.
"We'll try our best for next year to try and straighten up that No.7 (into a No.1) hopefully."
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