While many of his colleagues are enjoying their well-deserved vacations, Jack Miller is preparing for the Suzuka 8 Hours. The Australian had raced in the endurance classic in 2017. That time, he was on the Honda and came close to a podium finish. This weekend, however, he'll be on the Yamaha, crewed by Andrea Locatelli and veteran Katsuyuki Nakasauga, who has won the race four times in his career. For the Iwata manufacturer, it's going to be a very important event, because it's celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, since its founding, and winning in the what is considered the most important race for the Japanese would certainly be the classic icing on the cake.
“It's obviously a massive honor for me to be able to represent Yamaha at the Suzuka 8 Hours. It's a race I've been wanting to go back to since 2017, when I finished fourth, losing to Yamaha that time,” Jack said.
The 8 Hours is a race that definitely leaves an impression.
“It was nice to be back in Suzuka, especially with the R1. It’s a lot of fun,” the Pramac MotoGP team rider continued. “The long run with [Locatelli] went well. I think we did a good job together. The pace is good, the speed is okay, and I think that, during the race weekend, we’ll find a bit of extra margin when we need it, which is normal. I'm getting more comfortable with the Suzuka circuit. It’s a long track, and there are many areas where you can make a mistake. Trying to put a perfect lap together is very difficult.”
For those accustomed to racing for forty minutes or so, tackling a long track is a far from predictable exercise.
“Endurance is a whole other kettle of fish compared to sprint racing, where you can kind of blow your lights out from the get-go. It's about pacing yourself. You're kind of having to manage the riders around you because there's a lot more traffic,” Miller explained. “Not only that. In Suzuka, it's thirty-seven, thirty-eight degrees with about ninety percent humidity, excruciating heat. So, trying to do your best to battle this is is one of the key factors. You're sweating profusely, it just doesn't stop. You end up losing about three or four kilos throughout the race, while tryingto smash protein, carbs, and then also trying to get your minerals back in because cramping can be an absolute nightmare. It’s a tricky race. A lot can happen over the duration of eight hours, whether it's the weather and also finishing into the night. It creates an awesome atmosphere, though.”
The night is the most difficult part of the race, but also the most fascinating.
“We race at night in the MotoGP, but it's a quite considerably different racing. The track isn’t lit like in Qatar, where you can run a dark visor in the middle of the night. The difference in Suzuka is you practically ride on sensations because you can't see anything. When you open the gas, the headlights are in the air and, when you grab the brakees, the headlights are on the front wheel. But I'm looking forward to getting back there. It's an awesome race and just an absolute pleasure to be part of. Motorcycle racing is generally an individual sport, but to be able to work together with teammates is a lot of fun.”
You have to find the right automatisms.
“I'm working a lot on pit stops and understanding the fuel lights and so on and so forth. How not to muck that up. Basically trying to understand the pit board and what we need to be seeing on the big light-up pit board. It's extremely important. The biggest thing is just trying not to get caught up in anything and not let the extremely fast laps be too fast and not letting the extremely slow laps be too slow. It's all about averaging it out and trying to be as consistent as possible, considering that, like I said, there’s a lot of traffic. You're dealing with up to fifteen riders a lap sometimes, some laps more, some laps less,” he said, explaining the difficulties.
It won’t be an easy challenge but, for Miller, it’s worth taking on. In fact, he thinks every MotoGP rider should race in it at least once: “I think it should be back in the contract negotions, for sure.”