Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP

Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP faces another challenging start in Motegi

Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP experienced another demanding opening day at the Twin Ring Motegi, with Jack Miller and Toprak Razgatlıoğlu continuing to work on the YZR-M1 and both facing Q1 tomorrow in their fight for the best possible starting positions.

GRAND PRIX OF JAPAN

PRACTICE

Motegi (Japan), 2nd October 2026

18th

JACK MILLER
1'43.728 / 23 LAPS

21st

TOPRAK RAZGATLIOGLU
1'44.411 / 23 LAPS

Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP faced another challenging start to the weekend at the Twin Ring Motegi, as the team began the Japanese Grand Prix with high expectations for Yamaha’s home round. Jack Miller and Toprak Razgatlıoğlu spent the day testing different solutions in an effort to improve the feeling and performance of the YZR-M1. While the morning session offered some encouraging indications, the afternoon proved more complicated for both riders, leaving them with further work to do ahead of qualifying.

Jack Miller was unable to translate the improvements seen during parts of the day into a competitive final position, but the Australian and his team identified several areas to work on and will use the data collected today to make further changes overnight. The objective will be to find a more consistent package and make the step needed to progress through Q1 tomorrow morning.

For Toprak Razgatlıoğlu, Friday continued to be part of the adaptation process to a circuit he is experiencing for the first time on a MotoGP bike. The Turkish rider continued to work on adapting his riding style to the YZR-M1, with braking and the feeling of the bike approaching the corners remaining key areas of focus. Like Miller, Razgatlıoğlu will have to go through Q1 tomorrow, with both riders aiming to secure the best possible starting positions for Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix.

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JACK MILLER
Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Rider

Friday was a bit of a mixed day. We spent the morning working with a different direction from the factory, trying to understand the throttle progression, but after the red flag we went back to the previous setting and I was able to tidy the bike up a little bit. Over the next few runs, the feeling improved and I had a good first lap on the new tyre, especially when I was riding behind Pecco.

Unfortunately, I had a moment in Turn 11 when we came together on the same line and I lost the front. That cost me the lap, so I didn’t get to put together the time I think we could have done. But there are definitely some areas where we can improve, particularly under braking. The new asphalt is quite tricky when you start leaning the bike over, but there is also a lot of potential there, so we’ll work on it tonight and see what we can find for tomorrow.

The tyres seem to be working quite well here, so it will be interesting to see how they perform over the distance. We still have some things to tidy up, but I believe we can make another step tomorrow and give qualifying a good crack.

And at least we had a bit of fun at the end of the session! I gave Alex Rins a lift back to the pits after his bike stopped, so hopefully the Yamaha taxi service got him where he needed to go.

TOPRAK RAZGATLIOGLU
Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP rider

I learned a lot more about the track today and I really like Motegi, but we still have the same problem with the soft tyre. When I put the new soft tyre on, I lose a lot of time under braking because I still cannot stop the bike in the way I want. This is the biggest area where I need to improve.

With the medium tyre, even a used one, my lap time was quite similar to what I could do with the new soft, so our race pace is not so bad. But when we put the soft tyre on, I’m not able to use the extra grip and performance because I lose too much in the braking areas. When you see the lap time and know you are losing there every lap, it becomes frustrating.

I’m looking at the data and trying to understand how I can adapt my riding and make better use of the bike. Fabio is very strong in this area, so I can also learn from the data and try to understand what he is doing differently. I hope we can find something tonight because if I can improve the braking, I believe the lap time will come. Tomorrow I will try to make another step and see what we can do.