Jack Miller took a pragmatic view of Yamaha’s technical setback during the recent MotoGP pre‑season test in Sepang, saying the interruption was an expected challenge when introducing a major new engine.
Yamaha was forced to pause running on the second day of the official test after a technical issue affected the V4 machines being used by factory riders. After engineers from Japan and Italy investigated overnight, the team resumed track sessions on the final day with limited running.
Miller, riding for Prima Pramac Yamaha, said it was not surprising that a completely new bike would encounter issues so early in its development. He said building a competitive machine in less than a year and avoiding any problems was unrealistic.
“You would be extremely naive to think you could build a bike in nine months to race against the best in the world and not have a day like we had yesterday,” Miller said. “It is better that it happened in testing rather than at a race.”
Source: Speedcafe
On the final day of testing, Miller completed 32 laps and recorded the 17th‑fastest time, 1.754 seconds off the pace set by the session leader. He said part of the team’s work involved swapping components and settings to understand what works best before settling on a consistent configuration.
“I was not able to extract what I wanted out of the bike, but that was on me. I need more time on it,” Miller said. “We have been busy changing parts and chassis to understand their strengths and weaknesses.”
Miller also completed Yamaha’s only race simulation, a sprint run, and said he was encouraged by the bike’s performance as grip levels changed and temperatures rose. His time in the sprint was notably quicker than his own earlier low‑fuel effort, suggesting progress over the longer run.
With Fabio Quartararo sidelined by injury, Miller was the only Yamaha rider to complete a full sprint test. The team plans to refine the V4 further ahead of the next official test in Buriram, Thailand, and ultimately before the start of the MotoGP season. Yamaha’s concession status allows them to make engine changes if needed during development.
