Suzuka outing delights Jack Miller: “I hope I can come back!”

Jack Miller made a lasting impression during his one-off appearance in the World Endurance Championship at Suzuka. Alongside Andrea Locatelli and Katsuyuki Nakasuga, the MotoGP rider led the Yamaha works team to second place at the Suzuka 8 Hours. After the race, the Australian was delighted with his foray into the EWC, despite narrowly missing out on victory.

“We gave it our all over the eight hours,” said Miller. “Loka was fantastic, and so was Nakasuga. I’m proud of the performance we put in as a team.” Miller was among the fastest riders on the track, particularly in the second half of the race. With consistent lap times in the 2:16-minute range, he significantly reduced the gap to the leading Honda works team, featuring Jonathan Rea, and kept hopes of victory alive for a long time.

Strong in the wet: Jack Miller set the fastest lap of the race

Yet his first stint was anything but smooth. “I had major difficulties with the rear tyre at the start. During that phase, my only priority was just to stay in the race somehow,” explained the MotoGP rider. “From the second stint onwards, I had absolutely no problems at all. I was able to push hard and steadily close the gap on Honda.”

In the end, the changeable weather conditions and the long safety car period prevented a possible final charge on Honda HRC. “We were getting closer and closer, but in the end we couldn’t catch them.”

Jack Miller mit der Werks-R1 für Suzuka

Foto: FIM EWC

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Regardless of the result, the historic endurance race made a big impression on Miller. “I think the Endurance World Championship is really cool and I love the Suzuka 8 Hours as part of this championship. It’s a great honour for me to have raced here and to represent MotoGP. I hope everyone could see that I gave it 100 per cent.”

Emotional words for Yamaha legend Katsuyuki Nakasuga

The weekend was particularly moving for his team-mate Katsuyuki Nakasuga. The 44-year-old Japanese rider, who surprisingly finished on the podium during his MotoGP outing at Valencia in 2012, made his final appearance at the Suzuka 8 Hours and received special praise from Miller.

Jack Miller hatte viel Spaß mit Katsuyuki Nakasuga

Foto: FIM EWC

“I’d like to say something else to Nakasuga-san: you truly deserve to be called a legend,” emphasised the Australian. “No matter how difficult the situation is – he always remains consistent and fights right to the end. It was a great pleasure for me to share a pit with him.”

Even though victory ultimately went to Honda, Miller is likely to look back fondly on his guest appearance in the World Endurance Championship. With his strong pace on a wet track, the MotoGP rider was one of the standout performers of the race and made it clear that he would certainly be keen to compete in the Suzuka 8 Hours again. It remains to be seen what opportunities may arise in the future, as Miller will lose his place in the Yamaha line-up in MotoGP at the end of the year.

The final results of the 2026 Suzuka 8 Hours:

1. Honda HRC (Rea, Takahashi, Chantra), Honda CBR1000RR-R, 188 laps

2. Yamaha Factory Racing (Nakasuga, Miller, Locatelli), Yamaha R1, +1:34.280 minutes

3. BMW Endurance (Reiterberger, Odendaal, van der Mark), BMW M1000RR, +1:44.087

4. YART (Hanika, Fritz, Mercado), Yamaha R1, +3:44.444

5. AutoRace Ube Racing (Uramoto, Guintoli, Ponsson), BMW M1000RR, +3:46.113

6. SERT (Black, Linfoot, Atsumi), Suzuki GSX-R1000R, +2 laps

7. Suzuki CN Challenge (Tsuda, Mizuno, Masson), Suzuki GSX-R1000R, +2 laps

8. SDG Team HARC-PRO Honda (Kunii, Nagoe, Abe), Honda CBR1000RR-R, +3 laps

9. Honda Asia-Dream Racing (Atiratphuvapat, Pawi, Putra), Honda CBR1000RR-R, +4 laps

10. Team ATJ (Iwata, Suzuki, Kunimine), Suzuki GSX-R1000R, +4 laps