MotoGP Ace Jack Miller Returns to Suzuka 8-Hours with Yamaha Factory
Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP star Jack Miller to head back to Suzuka this August as one part of a factory Yamaha dream team
Jack Miller is heading back to Suzuka this summer, as the Aussie MotoGP ace will suit up for the Yamaha Factory Racing Team at the 2025 Coca-Cola Suzuka 8-Hours.
The news marks his first outing in the FIM Endurance World Championship in eight years, and the Australian racer will be joined in the team by Japanese racing royalty, in the form of Katsuyuki Nakasuga and another as yet unnamed pilot. Overseeing the team at Japan’s most prestigious motorcycle racing event will be ex-GP racer and Yamaha stalwart Wataru Yoshikawa.
The announcement sees Miller join Japanese racing legend Katsuyuki Nakasuga for the 46th edition of the iconic race, an occasion which also sees Yamaha celebrate its 70th anniversary. Marking the occasion, Yamaha has introduced an already iconic colour scheme for its Yamaha R1 Race, featuring the distinctive design elements of red, white, and black, along with a stylised ‘Speedblock’ design on the flanks of the fairing.
Suzuka isn’t just a race in Japan, it’s a national motorsport institution that blends speed, stamina, and searing summer heat. It’s Yamaha’s first full-factory tilt at the event since 2019, and bringing Miller back into the fold is a signal of serious intent.
And Miller has unfinished business at the event, with his first and only crack at Suzuka coming in 2017 with Team HRC. On that occasion, the Aussie star narrowly missed the podium and finished fourth. It was enough to leave a lasting impression, though, and the former MotoGP race winner has been itching for a return ever since.
“It's a massive honour to represent Yamaha at Suzuka,” Miller said. “I’ve been dreaming of a return since 2017, and to do it with the factory team, on the R1, no less, is just awesome. I’ll be giving it everything.”
Miller isn’t the only big name on the Yamaha factory racing entry list. Nakasuga, a 12-time All Japan JSB1000 Champion and a key part of Yamaha’s 2015–2018 Suzuka domination streak, brings both experience and blistering pace. The third rider for the factory outfit is yet to be confirmed, but will be plucked from Yamaha’s current WorldSBK roster. Of Yamaha’s World Superbike riders, Jonathan Rea seems like the safest bet, given his experience at the event (2012, 2018, 2019, and 2022) when he hit the podium on every visit.
Team boss Wataru Yoshikawa, himself a former 8-Hours racer and Japanese Superbike champion, will be overseeing the effort. The team is set to conduct private tests on July 3-4 before hitting the track properly for practice and qualifying on August 1, ahead of the Top Ten Trial and the main race.
The entry also highlights the strengthening ties between Prima Pramac and Yamaha, with team boss Paolo Campinoti praising Miller’s involvement as a marker of the growing partnership: “It shows how strong and solid our collaboration with Yamaha already is.”
Team Director Gino Borsoi echoed the sentiment, calling Suzuka “one of those legendary events” and hailing Miller as the perfect man for the job, both on the bike and in terms of charisma.
With Yamaha marking a major anniversary and Miller hungry for redemption, the team will now have a private test at Suzuka scheduled for July 3 and 4. The 46th Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race begins on Friday, August 1, when practice and qualifying get underway ahead of the traditional Top Ten Trial on Saturday and the Race on Sunday.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
