2025 Suzuka 8 Hour
YRT
MotoGP rider Jack Miller and WorldSBK star Andrea Locatelli spent two days this week in typically hot and humid Japanese summer conditions under the guidance of Yamaha Suzuka veteran Katsuyuki Nakasuga to get accustomed to the very special YRT entry for this year’s 46th edition of the Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours.
With each session, Miller and Locatelli grew in confidence at the Suzuka track and significantly improved their lap times.
The riders set ambitious targets for the second day of the test, and the momentum gained over the last two days will be key heading into the Official Suzuka 8 Hours Pre-Event Test held on July 30, followed by the race weekend held from August 1-3.
Miller and Locatelli are now on their way back to Europe to continue their respective championship campaigns.
Miller is set to compete in the MotoGP Grand Prix of Germany (Round 11) at the Sachsenring on July 11-13, followed by the Grand Prix of Czechia (Round 12) at the Automotodrom Brno from July 18-20.
Jack Miller – Yamaha Racing Team
“It was nice to be back here in Suzuka, especially with the R1 – it’s a lot of fun. The long run with Loka went well today; I think we did a good job together. The pace is good, the speed is okay, and I think that during the race weekend we will find a bit of extra margin when we need it – which is normal. Overall, working with the R1 feels good. I’m getting more and more comfortable with the Suzuka Circuit. It’s a long track, and there are many areas where you can make a mistake. Trying to put a perfect lap together is very difficult, so today was about becoming comfortable with your marks and getting ready for the Suzuka 8 Hours.”
Locatelli will contest the British Round (Round 7) of the WorldSBK Championship at Donington Park held on July 11-13 before heading to the Hungarian Round (Round 8) at Balaton Park Circuit held from July 25-27.
Andrea Locatelli – Yamaha Racing Team
“We did a lot of work today, and we’re really happy with the confidence we have on the bike. Overall, it was much better than the first day – but that’s normal. On Day 1, we needed to get to know the bike, the track, and a million things around this bike. It was a good Day 2. I’m looking forward to the race weekend. We’ll have more time there to keep improving, get more feeling with the bike, gain more experience with the Bridgestone tyres, and then I think we’ll really be able to enjoy the race. Today I was on track with Jack, and I rode alone too. We still don’t know exactly where we stand when there are other competitors out there. We’ll need to check during the race weekend, but the team said the lap times today weren’t too bad. They were consistent, with no mistakes – and that’s the main thing in an endurance race. I think, for my first time here in Suzuka, we did a great job, and I’m pretty happy with the job I did too. Of course, I’m also looking forward to going back and continuing my WorldSBK championship, but I already can’t wait to come back here again for the real Suzuka 8 Hours race weekend.”
Katsuyuki Nakasuga – Yamaha Racing Team
“I think over the two day test here Jack and Loka got to grips with the bike. I’m relieved to see that the base setup we put together in the June test is working well. Because this is an endurance race, we have to share the same bike, so there are some things we all had to adapt to. But I think they both understood this well and improved their performance every time they went out. I couldn’t ride today, but together we confirmed our tyre choices. Overall, I think it was a very good test. During the actual race weekend it will be different though, because there will be different track conditions and we’ll have traffic on track. I’m sure we can raise our performance even higher once we’re back for the race weekend, but I’d like to do that in a calm way. Even at our present level, I think we can compete against our rivals. But if we can improve our communication a little bit more we can definitely aim for the top step of the podium.”
Wataru Yoshikawa – Yamaha Racing Team Manager
“This was the first time we had all three riders together to test, so I was both curious to see how it would go, and a bit worried. Both Miller and Locatelli have great potential as riders and they’re both friendly. I think we made a very good team during the two days of testing. Miller had a bit of difficulty transitioning from his YZR-M1 MotoGP machine to the YZF-R1, and I’m sure it’s a bit frustrating, but he knows what he needs to do now to set a steady pace. On the other hand, Locatelli normally rides the R1 in WorldSBK, so it’s a bit smoother for him. He has a fast pace and I think he’ll be very reliable. Nakasuga had an unexpected crash, but it was nothing serious, so there’s no problem. We know that this year’s 8 Hours isn’t going to be easy because we’ll be up against some tough rivals. But during the race weekend, I want us to go beyond our best. If we can mix it with the front runners and do what we need to do without making mistakes, I think a good result will follow.”
The 46th Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance event officially starts on Friday, the 1st of August, when practice and qualifying get underway, ahead of the traditional Top Ten Trial on Saturday and the race on Sunday.
Yamaha’s Suzuka 8 Hours Victories
1987 – Shiseido TECH21 Racing Team – YZF750 (Martin Wimmer, Kevin Magee)
1988 – Team Lucky Strike Roberts – YZF750 (Kevin Magee, Wayne Rainey)
1990 – Shiseido TECH21 Racing Team – YZF750 (Tadahiko Taira, Eddie Lawson)
1996 – Yamaha Racing Team – YZF750 (Colin Edwards, Noriyuki Haga)
2015 – Yamaha Factory Racing Team – YZF-R1 (Katsuyuki Nakasuga, Pol Espargaró, Bradley Smith)
2016 – Yamaha Factory Racing Team – YZF-R1 (Katsuyuki Nakasuga, Alex Lowes, Pol Espargaró)
2017 – Yamaha Factory Racing Team – YZF-R1 (Katsuyuki Nakasuga, Alex Lowes, Michael van der Mark)
2018 – Yamaha Factory Racing Team – YZF-R1 (Katsuyuki Nakasuga, Alex Lowes, Michael van der Mark)
