"We were closing them down" - MotoGP's Jack Miller reflects on Suzuka 8 Hours

Jack Miller and the Yamaha Factory Racing Team finished runners-up to HRC for the second successive year in Sunday's Suzuka 8 Hours.

However, fans were denied a potential grandstand finish between the factory Japanese rivals when intensifying rain forced the deployment of safety cars with 35 minutes remaining.

Yamaha, rotating between Miller and WorldSBK rider Andrea Locatelli for the majority of the race, had cut Honda's advantage to 18 seconds, but the worsening conditions prevented the race from restarting.

Miller, who set the fastest lap of the race with a 2m 16.034s compared with HRC's best of 2m 17.097s, said:

“We gave it our all in the 8 Hours! Loka was fantastic, and Nakasuga was amazing too. I’m proud of the efforts we all made here.

“I’m happy with my own performance, too. I gave it 100 percent, that’s for sure.

“I struggled in the first stint quite a bit with the rear end, and at that point I was just trying my best to stay in the race.

“From the second stint on I had absolutely no problems, I could push at full throttle and close the gap to Honda in front of us.

“We were closing them down, but in the end we couldn’t quite catch them.

“I think the EWC is super cool, and I absolutely love the 8 Hours as one of its rounds.

“I’m so honoured I got to do this race and represent MotoGP here.

“I hope everyone could see that I was giving it my maximum.”

Miller also paid tribute to team-mate and former Yamaha test rider and wildcard Katsuyuki Nakasuga, who was competing in his final Suzuka 8 Hours.

“I want to say this to Nakasuga-san: You really deserve to be called a legend!

“No matter how difficult the situation, he’s always consistent and brings the fight every time.

“Sharing a garage with him was a big pleasure for me.”

Miller, linked with a potential WorldSBK seat for 2027, now returns to MotoGP action with Pramac Yamaha at this weekend's German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring.