Miller strengthens his case as Bezzechi wins British GP
Having returned to Yamaha at the start of the season, Australian Jack Miller's avowed intention is to stay with the team beyond the end of the year and he did much to strengthen his cause at a chaotic British MotoGP at Silverstone.
Amid the all crashes and restarts, the Townsville-born racer steered himself to seventh place, having at one point been challenging for the lead.
The race was won by Aprilia's Marco Bezzechi, his team's first victory of the season in a race that was initially red-flagged for an oil spill and later saw riders crashing or retiring while in the lead, including Fabio Quartararo.
Miller, who previously rode for Yamaha between 2018-20, has already said he would "love to keep going" with the Prima Pramac Racing team beyond 2025.
But after claiming a top-five finish in the first three Grand Prix, he had hit a dip in form.
The 30-year-old did not finish any of the last three races and most recently crashed out of the lead of the French Grand Prix. That pushed him down to 17th in the standings.
But third place in Friday's practice at Silverstone, followed by sixth in qualifying 24 hours later, pointed at a recovery, and Sunday's battling display moved him up a place to 16th.
A new dream team in the making 💯The factory 'Yamaha Racing Team' will #RiseUP this year with @jackmilleraus joining Katsuyuki Nakasuga to take on the prestigious Suzuka 8 Hours 🔥🔝#YamahaFactoryRacing | #RevsYourHeart | #FIMEWC pic.twitter.com/iysh0bUwAR
— ヤマハ発動機レース情報 (@yamaha_race) May 25, 2025
That came hours after he received the boost of being named as a Yamaha rider for the Suzuka 8 Hours race. It will be the first time Yamaha have fielded an official team at the iconic endurance event since 2019.
"It's obviously a massive honour for me to be able to represent Yamaha at the Suzuka 8 Hours this year," Miller said. "It's a race I've been wanting to go back to since 2017 when I finished fourth (with Honda), losing to Yamaha that time."
Back at Silverstone, LCR Honda's Johann Zarco chased Bezzechi to the chequered flag and Ducati's Marc Marquez pipped Franco Morbidelli to finish third and extend his lead in the world championship.
Both Alex Marquez and his brother Marc crashed while leading before the race was restarted for an oil spill while polesitter Quartararo took the lead at the second time of asking before being forced to retire due to an issue with his bike.
Bezzecchi's victory was his first since the 2023 Indian Grand Prix and the Italian also became the 11th different winner at Silverstone in the last 11 races.
"It's amazing. It has been a really tough time for me in this past month. Aprilia trusted in me and we worked really hard," Bezzecchi said.
"The team made a wonderful job... I was waiting for a day like this since my last win."
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