Marco Bezzecchi
Yamaha had a horrendous weekend at the Austrian Grand Prix, with Jack Miller being stuck at the back of the grid throughout the event.
No Yamaha rider made it into Q2, with Fabio Quartararo managing the highest position of 16th. Miller was last on the grid in 21st, with Tech3’s Maverick Vinales withdrawing from the race due to injury.
Quartararo climbed to 11th in the Sprint race, but that would mark Yamaha’s best result of the entire weekend. Teammate Alex Rins, Miller and Miguel Oliveira were P16, P17 and P18 on Saturday.
Things did not improve on Sunday as the Yamaha riders finished as the bottom four riders at the Austrian Grand Prix. Miller came home last for Pramac as the Aussie desperately struggled on his YZR-M1 around the Red Bull Ring.
Jack Miller found ‘no way’ to find traction in ‘mad’ problem at the Austrian Grand Prix
Speaking with Fox Sports Australia, the 30-year-old was left fuming over his issues with the bike as he found ‘no way’ to find any traction, no matter what he tried.
“There’s no way to find traction. In the race I tried everything possible I know how to do to find traction, whether it be short-shifting, being super patient on the throttle, whatever,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter what I did. You arrive to a certain point and it feels like at about 120-130km/h, once the forward momentum is enough, you start to lose load on the rear and the bike starts to spin like mad, and you can’t do anything about it.”
He had gained positions at the start, but his limited machinery left him ‘suffering’ on track: “I tried to fight with everybody tooth and nail, every person that came past me I was trying to pass back,” he added.
“You feel like a b—— when you’re doing that because you know you’re suffering so much … when they’re coming past on the acceleration and then you dive-bomb them, that’s all you can do.”
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Jack Miller will be worried by what Fabio Quartararo just said about one Pramac target
Yamaha will want to put the Austrian GP behind them and move on to Balaton Park this weekend. Miller will be looking to right the wrongs and produce a strong weekend, especially with his future being uncertain.
Miller is out of contract in 2025, with the Aussie battling Oliveira for a seat next to Toprak Razgatlioglu. He has considerably outperformed his teammate, but Pramac’s decision has been delayed as Moto2 riders Manu Gonzalez and Diogo Moreira have entered the conversation for the seat.
Quartararo says it ‘would be good’ if Moreira joined Yamaha in 2026, which will worry Miller as he faces falling off the MotoGP grid. Quartararo could be consulted by Pramac in their decision-making process; his comments on Moreira could go a long way in getting the Brazilian on the grid.
Reports have suggested that Miller could replace Rins at the factory team. However, Rins’ contract may be ‘expensive’ to terminate, which may put the Japanese manufacturer off changing their line-up for 2026.
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