Miller, who currently sits in 16th place in this year’s MotoGP World Championship will join forces with 43-year-old Katsuyuki Nakasuga, while a third rider will be selected from the World Superbike Championship at a later date — with Andrea Locatelli, Jonathan Rea, Remy Gardner, and Dominique Aegerter all in the frame for the spot.
This marks Yamaha’s first official team entry at Suzuka since 2019, while it will be Miller’s first appearance at the event since his debut in 2017, when he finished fourth with the Musashi RT HARC-Pro Honda team, partnering Takumi Takahashi and Takaaki Nakagami.
“It’s obviously a massive honour for me to be able to represent Yamaha at the Suzuka 8 Hours this year,” said 30-year-old Miller.
“It’s a race I’ve been wanting to go back to since 2017 when I finished fourth, losing to Yamaha that time.
“It’s a big pleasure that I get to ride that Yamaha YZF-R1 motorcycle this time and represent the factory Yamaha Racing Team in Japan at such a prestigious race.”
Although Miller is still relatively new to the Suzuka 8 Hours, Nakasuga brings a wealth of experience, having played an essential role in Yamaha Factory Racing Team’s four straight victories from 2015 to 2018. He’s also a 12-time champion in the All-Japan Road Race JSB1000 class.
Secure your spot today.
The Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race has been held 45 times since its inaugural event in 1978, with Yamaha claiming victory on eight occasions.
The last Australian to win the race on a Yamaha was Kevin Magee in 1987, partnering with Germany’s Martin Wimmer.
Magee repeated the feat the following year, teaming up with three-time 500cc World Champion Wayne Rainey.
The 46th edition of the Suzuka 8 Hours will serve as round three of the current FIM Endurance World Championship.
The event is scheduled to take place from August 1–3.
Discussion about this post