Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP

Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Left Searching for More After Challenging Sachsenring Sprint

A promising Friday proved difficult to convert into results as Jack Miller finished 13th in the Sprint, while Toprak Razgatlıoğlu continued his learning process with 17th place. Both riders now turn their focus to Sunday's Grand Prix.

GRAND PRIX OF GERMANY

SPRINT

Sachsenring (Germany), 11th July 2026

13th

JACK MILLER
+ 15.007 / 15 LAPS

17th

TOPRAK RAZGATLIOGLU
+ 22.622 / 15 LAPS

Saturday at the Sachsenring left Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP with the feeling that more was possible after the promise shown throughout Friday failed to translate into the results the team had hoped for in both qualifying and the Sprint race. Following the strongest opening day of the season, all the ingredients appeared to be in place for a competitive Saturday, particularly for Jack Miller, who had consistently demonstrated front-running pace. However, the Australian was unable to capitalise on that potential, leaving the team determined to regroup ahead of Sunday's Grand Prix.

After securing a direct place in Q2 on Friday, Miller was unable to reproduce the same level of performance in qualifying. A conservative tyre choice, made in search of greater confidence, ultimately proved less effective than expected, leaving him further down the grid than his pace had suggested was possible. The Sprint then failed to unfold as planned, with Jack losing ground in the opening laps and finding himself battling outside the points for the remainder of the race. Despite pushing throughout the 15 laps, he crossed the line in 13th position, a result that did not reflect either his speed or the potential shown during the earlier stages of the weekend.

For Toprak Razgatlıoğlu, the weekend has so far remained an uphill battle. The Turkish rookie has yet to find the confidence and set-up required to fully exploit the characteristics of his Yamaha YZR-M1 around the demanding Sachsenring. Qualifying 17th and finishing the Sprint in the same position, Toprak nevertheless continued to gather valuable experience on another circuit that presents a very different challenge on a MotoGP machine. As has often been the case this season, the focus remains on understanding the bike and building progressively from session to session.

Despite Saturday's disappointment, Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP approaches Sunday's Grand Prix with confidence that there is still more to achieve. Miller has already demonstrated that he has the pace to fight much closer to the front on this circuit, while Razgatlıoğlu has repeatedly shown throughout the season that his strongest performances often come on race day. With further data to analyse overnight and a longer race distance ahead, the team remains focused on turning its potential into the result it has been capable of throughout the weekend.

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GINO BORSOI
Team Director, Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP

Overall, it was quite an interesting race for us. Jack unfortunately lost a few positions in the opening laps, which made his Sprint much more difficult, but his race pace was very competitive. Once he settled into his rhythm, he did a really good job and showed the speed we had already seen on Friday. If tomorrow he can make a stronger start and hold his position in the early stages, I believe we have the potential to finish much closer to the top ten.

Toprak's day was more complicated. He wasn't feeling at his best physically, and this circuit presents a very particular challenge because the long sequence of left-hand corners puts a huge amount of stress on the tyres. It was the first time he had experienced this kind of tyre drop on a MotoGP bike here at Sachsenring, and it caught him by surprise. Riders with more experience at this circuit already know how to manage that situation, whereas for Toprak it was another important lesson in his adaptation process.

Hopefully he'll feel better tomorrow and, with today's experience behind him, he'll be able to manage the tyre degradation more effectively over the longer race distance.

JACK MILLER
Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Rider

The result doesn't really reflect the pace we had today. I made a good start, but I got boxed in at Turn 1 and lost a few positions, which made the rest of the Sprint much more difficult because overtaking isn't easy at this circuit.

Once I found my rhythm, I felt competitive and my pace was similar to the group ahead. I'm happier with the feeling on the medium tyre because it gives us a bit more stability, and that's something we can build on for tomorrow's Grand Prix.

We're still missing a little bit on corner exit, especially in terms of traction and getting the power to the ground, but our braking performance is strong and I think we have a good direction. If we can make another small step overnight and get away cleanly at the start, I'm confident we can fight for a much better result on Sunday.

TOPRAK RAZGATLIOGLU
Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP rider

It was very special to race at Sachsenring again after so many years, but doing it on a MotoGP bike is a completely different experience. The biggest surprise for me was the tyre degradation during the Sprint. I didn't expect the grip to drop so much after the first few laps, and I struggled to manage it as the race went on.

Every lap became more difficult because the rear tyre was losing performance and I wasn't able to keep the same pace. It's frustrating, but at the same time it's another important lesson because this is something I had never experienced before.

Tomorrow's race will be much longer, so tyre management will be even more important. We'll analyse today's data with the team, try to improve the bike and my approach, and hopefully we'll be able to take another step forward.