Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Faces a Challenging Friday at the Thai GP in Buriram

2025-03-06 16:44
The 2025 MotoGP World Championship got underway in Buriram, Thailand, with Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP riders Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira finishing 14th and 18th respectively in the opening Practice session.
Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP
GRAND PRIX OF THAILAND
PRACTICE
Buriram (Thailand),
14th
JACK MILLER
1'29"746 / 21 LAPS
18th
MIGUEL OLIVEIRA
1'29"985 / 24 LAPS
The opening day of the 2025 MotoGP World Championship at the Chang International Circuit saw a promising start for the Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Team in the morning‘s FP1 of the Thai GP, with Miller securing an impressive 4th place and Oliveira finishing 8th, setting the stage for a competitive weekend. But rising temperatures in the afternoon's Practice session added unexpected challenges.

As the day progressed and temperatures soared to 36°C (air) and 49°C (track), both riders struggled with rear grip on their Yamaha YZR-M1 machines, making the Practice session more difficult than anticipated. Despite the afternoon struggles, Miller demonstrated his potential and speed to fight for a top-10 position, which would have secured him a direct entry into Q2. Unfortunately, a minor slide midway through the session cost him crucial track time and, ultimately, his chance to qualify directly in Q2. He ended the day in 14th place with a best lap time of 1'29"746.

Meanwhile, Oliveira encountered even greater difficulties with rear grip throughout the session, preventing him from making the progress he had hoped for. He concluded the day in 18th place overall and a best time of 1‘29”985, determined to bounce back. With Qualifying and the first Sprint Race of the season ahead, before Sunday‘s Thai GP, Miller and Oliveira are eager to fight for strong results in the season opener.
GINO BORSOI

Team Director, Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP
“It was a rollercoaster Friday in our debut as the Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Team. In the morning, I was very pleased to see how both Jack and Miguel immediately showed great potential, consistently setting fast lap times. However, in the afternoon, they both struggled more than expected. We know that as temperatures rise, our bike suffers more with rear grip, and we are working closely with Yamaha‘s engineers to address this issue. It‘s unfortunate that Jack had that small crash during the Practice session, as I am convinced he could have made it into the top 10 and secured a spot in Q2. As for Miguel, he faced grip issues in the afternoon that significantly affected his performance. I am looking forward to tomorrow‘s Q1 because I believe we have the potential to get at least one rider into Q2. We are aware that while our race rhythm is quite good, time attack is an area where we need to improve. But the positive takeaway is that, session after session, we continue to make progress in enhancing the bike‘s competitiveness.”
JACK MILLER

Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Rider
"The first Friday of the year is done. It wasn‘t bad, but it could have been a little smoother. The feeling was pretty good in the morning, and the balance felt slightly different compared to when we were here for testing. The right-hand side of the tire seems to be working better this week, which was a pleasant surprise. The small crash during the Practice session didn‘t help. The bike was working well, but we seem to struggle a bit more as the temperatures rise. When you try to stop the bike, you lose some front-end support. I locked it up a little too much, and down I went. Apart from that, I did my time attack alone, but then I encountered some yellow flags a couple of laps in a row, which didn‘t help my cause. I was close today, and hopefully, things will go the right way tomorrow.”
MIGUEL OLIVEIRA

Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Rider
“I felt better in the morning than in the afternoon. We started the Practice session with the tyres we had finished the FP1, but for some reason nothing was working. We checked if it was because of the tyre – we were using the medium rear -, because the grip balance of the bike was a bit off, then we had two time attacks. Anyway, not the best day, even if the feeling on the bike was better than in the test, but we need to look at everything to see what we have to adjust for tomorrow and try to be faster. We know it‘s going to be tricky, especially if we want to use the soft rear not only for the Sprint, where I am not expecting any problems, but also for the race. In a heat like this it‘s going to be a challenge, here we have a lot of long braking points, and when you start to get a bit tired it‘s easier to miss those braking points. So, the key for the race is going to be consistency, trying to save some energy for the second part of the race.”

Source: Yamaha

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