Bitter Season Debut for Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Team in Thai GP's Sprint Race

2025-03-06 16:49
It was a tough 2025 MotoGP World Championship debut for the Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Team, as Jack Miller crashed out midway through the Sprint Race of the Thai GP while holding a solid 6th place, and Miguel Oliveira finished 16th.
Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP
GRAND PRIX OF THAILAND
SPRINT
Buriram (Thailand)
16th
MIGUEL OLIVEIRA
19'54"576 / 12 LAPS
NC
JACK MILLER
6/12 LAPS
What initially seemed like a promising Saturday for the Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Team, after an impressive qualifying session saw Jack Miller secure 4th place as the best Yamaha on the Chang International Circuit grid, ended in frustration. After a strong start, Miller was running comfortably in 6th place ahead of his Yamaha teammate Fabio Quartararo.

However, on lap 7 of the 12-lap Sprint Race, while trying to stay in touch with Franco Morbidelli in 5th, Miller suffered a crash at the braking zone of Turn 8, bringing his race to an early end. Despite this setback, Miller‘s weekend has been highly positive. His outstanding performance in Q1 saw him secure the second-fastest time behind Francesco Bagnaia, earning him a spot in Q2. There, in his second time attack, he set an impressive fourth-fastest time, just three-tenths of a second off Marc Márquez‘s pole position—clear evidence of Yamaha‘s progress over the winter.

Meanwhile, Miguel Oliveira continues to face a challenging weekend. He struggled to find the perfect feeling with his M1 in Q1, which limited him to 7th in the session and 17th on the starting grid. During the race, stuck in the midfield pack and struggling with front-end grip, the Portuguese rider was unable to find a competitive pace, ultimately finishing 16th.

Looking ahead to tomorrow‘s season-opening Grand Prix, Jack will start from the front of the second row and has everything he needs to fight for important positions and points. Meanwhile, Miguel, in what will be his 100th premier class GP, will face another comeback race, hoping to recover positions from further down the grid.
GINO BORSOI

Team Director, Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP
"Even though it‘s a shame how the Sprint Race ended, what I prefer to highlight is our continuous progress. Without wanting to sound too bold, I‘d say that as Yamaha, we‘re not far from being ahead of all the other manufacturers—Ducati excluded, of course. And that already seems like a great starting point to me. It was a bittersweet Saturday, true, but still a positive one. Aside from the crash, Jack confirmed his excellent adaptation to the YZR-M1. If he had been a bit more careful, he could have finished the race, and beyond the final result, he would have provided valuable information to the engineers to further improve the bike. A standout performance is always great, but at this stage, when it‘s more important to consolidate our project, it‘s relatively less crucial. That said—and I say this as a former rider—I completely understand that when you're a racer, it's instinctive to go for it. As for Miguel, his final position isn‘t what we expected, but if we look at his race pace, he could have easily been close to the Top 10. The problem is that starting so far back makes things difficult, and then, on the first lap, he was hit and forced wide. If we consider that he finished just six seconds behind Quartararo but lost three seconds on the first lap alone, his race had some positive aspects as well. Now, we look ahead to tomorrow‘s race—the foundation for a good performance is there, and hopefully, we can bring home a strong result."
MIGUEL OLIVEIRA

Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Rider
"I struggled a bit, especially with the front end of the bike, as I felt like I had no grip. I thought my tyre pressure was sky-high, but in reality, it was fine. However, that lack of confidence when releasing the brakes into the corners cost me a lot. Considering I started so far back on the grid, finishing just six seconds behind Fabio (Quartararo) wasn‘t too bad—my pace wasn‘t awful. Right now, we can‘t compare ourselves to the top guys; we‘re still behind. What we need to do is use the first Yamaha as a reference, and I‘d say we were about 0”25 seconds per lap off Fabio‘s pace. Tomorrow‘s race will be even longer and tougher, so I‘m not sure what to expect. It will probably be even more challenging than today. I need to focus on the start because the first couple of laps will be crucial—I have to overtake as many riders as possible early on to make the race easier."
JACK MILLER

Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Rider
"This is not how I wanted the first Sprint Race of the season to go, but it is what it is. I was pushing hard despite some warnings from the bike, with a bit of understeer in a few corners. I kept pushing—maybe a little too much—when I should have used my head a bit more. But you know, after four months without racing and immediately being so competitive, it‘s easy to get carried away. I didn‘t do anything different going into Turn 8—I braked the same way, my line was fine—but that was the point where the tire started to drop off, and I crashed. I was trying to stay with Morbidelli, who was also pushing to catch Bagnaia, hoping their battle would help me close the gap while I was pulling away from the riders behind me. It‘s a shame because I was really enjoying my race, but hopefully, we can learn from this and improve tomorrow. That said, I‘m happy with my performance in qualifying—I‘m enjoying riding this bike, and hopefully, we can come away with a good result tomorrow."

Source: Yamaha

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