Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP looks to leave a difficult Motegi weekend behind
Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP endured another challenging race at the Twin Ring Motegi, with Toprak Razgatlıoğlu and Jack Miller finishing 17th and 19th respectively after a difficult weekend from the opening sessions.
GRAND PRIX OF JAPAN
RACE
Motegi (Japan), 4th October 2026
17th
TOPRAK RAZGATLIOGLU +39,562 / 24 LAPS
19th
JACK MILLER +71,127 / 24 LAPS
Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP brought a difficult Japanese Grand Prix to a close at the Twin Ring Motegi, with Toprak Razgatlıoğlu and Jack Miller unable to turn their race pace into the result they had been hoping for. After struggling to find the right balance throughout practice, qualifying and Saturday’s Sprint, both riders faced another demanding race and were unable to fight for the positions they had been targeting.
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu once again showed that his race pace was stronger than his starting position suggested, but starting from 22nd made any recovery extremely difficult. The Turkish rider made progress during the race but also made a mistake that cost him several positions, forcing him to restart his recovery. Despite maintaining a competitive pace, he was unable to make up enough ground and eventually finished 17th.
Jack Miller spent much of the race fighting with his teammate, remaining close to Razgatlıoğlu until the 20th lap. The Australian then made a mistake that resulted in a crash. He was able to rejoin the race and complete the final laps, crossing the finish line in 19th and last position, more than 20 seconds behind the rider ahead.
The Japanese Grand Prix was therefore a weekend the team will be keen to put behind it, but the data and experience gathered throughout the three days will now be analysed as part of the ongoing development of the YZR-M1. Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP will now turn its attention to the next round of the championship, next week in Mandalika, Indonesia with the objective of making a positive step forward.
GINO BORSOI Team Director, Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP
It is clear that this was another difficult weekend for both riders. The main positive from today is that Toprak was able to find a really interesting race pace, not too far from Quartararo’s, despite Fabio starting much further ahead.
Once again, Toprak was able to make a step forward during the race, and that is something positive we can take from today. The priority now is to become more competitive from the first day of the weekend, so that both riders can start further forward and we can have a more consistent race pace from the beginning.
That is the area we need to focus on and improve as we move towards the end of the season.
TOPRAK RAZGATLIOGLU Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP rider
I had the same problem again with the tyres and with stopping the bike. In the first six laps I was struggling a lot, but then I found a better rhythm and started to do 1:44s. The pace was much better, but it was still difficult because I was always riding close to the limit and pushing hard to stop the bike.
I can see that Fabio is able to stop the bike more easily because he has much more experience with the Yamaha. I’m still learning how to use the front and rear tyres together under braking, and this is an area where I need to improve. When I can stop the bike properly at the right point, I know I can make a big step in lap time. The positive thing is that I was improving lap by lap during the race, so I’m learning more every time I ride.
Today was better than yesterday, but I still need to find a way to ride the bike more comfortably and with more confidence. We are not fighting for the positions we want, but the important thing for me is to understand what I can improve.
I really enjoyed the track this weekend. It was my first time riding here, and before this I had only experienced Motegi on the video game, so it was great finally to ride a MotoGP bike here. I enjoyed learning the circuit, even if the race itself was difficult.
JACK MILLER Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Rider
I started the race reasonably well, but immediately I was struggling with the tyre pressure and locking the front a lot. The bike became quite difficult to ride, and I was losing time because I couldn’t brake the way I wanted. The frustrating thing is that this morning, with the same front tyre from the Sprint and the new hard rear, I could run 1:44s all day and did my best lap at the end in 1:44.1. In the race, I couldn’t get close to that pace and was stuck around the 1:45s.
The biggest thing we need to improve is the consistency between the sessions and the race. We need to understand how to manage the tyre better, especially when starting from so far back and riding in traffic, because the pressure builds up very quickly. Even after the crash, the last few laps were actually the best the bike had felt all race, when the tyres had settled down again.
The positive is that we learned a lot about the hard rear today. We had been unsure about it because historically it hasn’t always been the best option, but this morning it worked really well and gave us strong pace. That is useful information for the next races, and hopefully we can make the most of the same casing in Mandalika.
The last couple of races have been challenging for us, but we’ll keep working and stay positive. We know there are areas where we need to make a big step, particularly in the way we use and load the tyres, and that’s what we’ll focus on
Team Director, Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP
Once again, Toprak was able to make a step forward during the race, and that is something positive we can take from today. The priority now is to become more competitive from the first day of the weekend, so that both riders can start further forward and we can have a more consistent race pace from the beginning.
That is the area we need to focus on and improve as we move towards the end of the season.