Jack Miller Joins Factory 'Yamaha Racing Team' Line-Up for 2025 Suzuka 8 Hours
Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. is delighted to make a first update on its factory rider line-up for the 2025 "Coca-Cola" Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Road Race. After eight years, MotoGP star Jack Miller is set to make his return to FIM Endurance World Championship racing with the factory Yamaha Racing Team. He will be joining seasoned Suzuka 8 Hours rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga, under the guidance of Team Manager Wataru Yoshikawa.
Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. is thrilled to announce that Jack Miller will join their factory Yamaha Racing Team line-up this year at the 46th edition of the FIM Endurance World Championship "Coca-Cola" Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Road Race. The Suzuka 8 Hours event is one of Japan's most prestigious motorcycle races, and the 2025 edition holds extra significance for Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. as they celebrate their 70th anniversary this year.
Yamaha was founded on July 1, 1955, and its motorsports activities started only 9 days later at the 3rd Mount Fuji Ascent Race on July 10. To commemorate this upcoming milestone, Yamaha will enter a factory equipe at the Suzuka 8 Hours for the first time since 2019. Miller already has experience in endurance racing. He took part in the Suzuka 8 Hours once before in 2017. Though he finished just off the podium in fourth place, he caught the endurance racing bug and fell in love with the prominent Japanese event. He has been dreaming of a do-over ever since, and he feels all the more honoured to have been selected by Yamaha for the 2025 factory line-up.
Miller will be joined by seasoned Suzuka 8 Hours rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga, who played an integral part in Yamaha Factory Racing Team's four-consecutive victories (2015-2018) and is also a 12-time All Japan Road Race JSB1000 Champion. Yamaha's third rider for the 2025 Suzuka 8 Hours event will be selected from Yamaha's current crop of WorldSBK riders, with an announcement to follow shortly.
The appointed Team Manager for the factory entry is a rider who himself contested in the 1999 Suzuka 8 Hours and took the All Japan Road Racing Superbike title that same year: Wataru Yoshikawa, one of Yamaha's iconic stars of the 1990s. The Yamaha Racing Team will complete two private test days on July 3-4 before they officially return to action at the 46th "Coca-Cola" Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race on Friday, August 1 when practice and qualifying get underway ahead of the traditional Top Ten Trial on Saturday and the Race on Sunday.
Tetsu Ono, General Manager, Motorsport Strategy Division, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.
"This year marks the 70th anniversary of Yamaha's founding, and our factory entry in the Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race is a major part of our commemorative racing programme. With the goal of writing a new page in our 70-year history of taking on challenges and to deliver excitement to our fans worldwide who have supported us throughout those 70 years, we have been looking for the best rider line-up to win the Suzuka 8 Hours. I am now proud to announce that our second rider will be current MotoGP regular Jack Miller.
"Miller has been a very important part of our double factory line-up in MotoGP. Since the opening round of the season, he has contributed not just to testing and development but has also spurred on the entire Yamaha team with his fighting attitude and strong presence. With his previous experience in the Suzuka 8 Hours he is the perfect fit for the Yamaha Racing Team as we aim for victory in 2025.
"Just as he already does in MotoGP, Miller will bring to the team his experience, knowledge, passion, and fighting spirit. With Miller in our line-up, we're aiming to put on a race that will be remembered by fans around the world. The team's third rider will be announced at a later date, so please keep an eye on future announcements."
Jack Miller, Prima Pramac Yamaga MotoGP rider
"It's obviously a massive honour for me to be able to represent Yamaha at the Suzuka 8 Hours this year. It's a race I've been wanting to go back to since 2017 when I finished fourth, losing to Yamaha that time. It's a big pleasure that I get to ride that Yamaha R1 motorcycle this time and represent the factory Yamaha Racing Team in Japan at such a prestigious race. Like I said, I've been dreaming of this race, and to have the opportunity to come back with such a strong team is a massive pleasure. I look forward to hopefully a good result for them at home and receiving some big support from the Japanese fans."
Notes
Biography
Jack Miller made his road racing debut in 2009 after starting his career on dirt and soon made his appearance in the 125cc World Championship. Taking the IDM 125 crown on his way to full-time competition on the world stage, Miller first impressed in 2013 when he proved to be a consistent frontrunner with Racing Team Germany. Finishing as the Vice Champion with Red Bull KTM Ajo in 2014, Miller made the incredible move from Moto3 straight to MotoGP in 2015 with the LCR Honda team.
Following a tough rookie season, Miller moved to the Marc VDS Racing Team. He took a stunning maiden win at the 2016 Dutch GP in heavy rain that flooded the TT circuit at Assen, after starting the season with a broken leg. With a good number of top-10 results, Miller remained with the Marc VDS team for 2017, impressing once again before moving to Pramac Racing for the 2018 season, switching from Honda to Ducati.
It was a solid season for the Australian, highlighted by a superb pole position at the Argentinian GP: his growth and competitiveness secured him a place on the Pramac Ducati for 2019. It was a season in which Miller improved his results with five podiums, and he added four more in the following year, his third with the Pramac team, which secured him the team's factory bike for the 2021 season.
His debut year as a Ducati factory rider turned out to be the best of his career so far, with Miller taking two wins, three other podiums, and a fourth place in the overall standings. In 2022 the Aussie again proved his quality with seven podiums, including the best MotoGP performance of his career when he dominated the race in Japan. Miller - who proved to be a great help to Francesco Bagnaia in the Italian's hunt for his first MotoGP World Title - finished the season in fifth place overall with 189 points.
After five years with Ducati, Miller swapped his red leathers for KTM's orange in 2023, claiming a double podium at the Spanish GP and another Sprint podium at the German GP and ending the season in 11th before a difficult 2024 season saw him finish 14th in the riders' standings.
Because there is nothing like the air of home to rejuvenate, Miller returned to Paolo Campinoti's court in 2025 as one of the two riders defending the Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP colours as a Yamaha factory rider.
Miller showed quick adaptability to the YZR-M1, with a fifth place at the Grand Prix of The Americas Race as a highlight.
Personal Profile
| Date of Birth | 18-01-1995 |
|---|---|
| Place of Birth | Townsville, Queensland, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| @jackmilleraus | |
| Height | 173cm |
| Weight | 64kg |
Highlights
| First Grand Prix | 2011 German GP (125cc) |
|---|---|
| First GP Win | 2014 Qatar GP (Moto3) |
| First Premier Class Grand Prix | 2015 Qatar GP |
| First Premier Class Grand Prix Win | 2016 Dutch GP |
| Grand Prix Wins | 10 (4x MotoGP, 6x Moto3) |
| Podiums | 33 (23x MotoGP, 10x Moto3) |
| Sprint Podiums | 2x (2023 Spanish GP & 2023 German GP) |
| Pole position | 10 (2x MotoGP, 8x Moto3) |
Racing Career
| 2025 | MotoGP World Championship (17th - 20 points) [With Pramac Racing after the British GP Sprint] |
|---|---|
| 2024 | MotoGP World Championship (14th - 87 points) |
| 2023 | MotoGP World Championship (11th - 163 points) |
| 2022 | MotoGP World Championship (5th - 189 points) |
| 2021 | MotoGP World Championship (4th - 181 points) |
| 2020 | MotoGP World Championship (7th - 132 points) [With Pramac Racing] |
| 2019 | MotoGP World Championship (8th- 165 points) [With Pramac Racing] |
| 2018 | MotoGP World Championship (13th - 91 points) [With Pramac Racing] |
| 2017 | MotoGP World Championship (11th - 82 points) |
| 2016 | MotoGP World Championship (18th - 57 points) |
| 2015 | MotoGP World Championship (19th - 17 points) |
| 2014 | Moto3 World Championship (2nd - 276 points) |
| 2013 | Moto3 World Championship (7th - 110 points) |
| 2012 | Moto3 World Championship (23rd - 17 points) |
| 2011 | 125cc World Championship (NC - 0 points) |
