– Jack Miller was once again the highest-placed Yamaha rider at the Aragon Grand Prix. The Australian crossed the finish line in eleventh place, 27.206 seconds behind winner Marc Marquez. Alex Rins followed in 13th place, while Fabio Quartararo finished 18th. Toprak Razgatlioglu crashed out.
Read more «Nobody dares»: Why only one course was considered for the ninth DTM event
Miller sums up his performance positively: “A decent weekend overall,” the Australian concludes. He said he “gave everything” in the race without making big mistakes and was satisfied with his pace.
More traction, more stability
An important component of Yamaha’s progress was a new or revised swingarm. While teammate Quartararo tried various suspension solutions over the weekend, Miller said he initially did not have access to the new chassis.
The 31-year-old is satisfied with the swingarm used. It is somewhat an “old, new concept” that brings several small improvements to the M1: “A bit more traction, a bit more turning in, a bit more stability. All part of the daily work.”
Traction in particular seems to have been a decisive factor in Aragon. Miller explains that Yamaha can work significantly better with the available grip on the Spanish track compared to last year.
“It feels like a day’s difference, so I think we can use the advantages of the V4 here against the disadvantages of the inline engine,” says Miller.
Yamaha still lacks top speed
However, the race also revealed the limits of the progress. Miller was able to hold his position in the top 10 for a long time but had to give up places to KTM riders Enea Bastianini and Brad Binder in the final phase. Although he tried to make life as difficult as possible for them, he was practically “riding with his hands tied behind his back.”
MotoGP: Aragon Grand Prix (Alcaniz) 2026
The reason is obvious to Miller: Yamaha still lacks speed on the straights. “We lose too much on the straights, but we know that,” he explains. Not much can be changed in the short term. “There’s no point complaining about it. We just have to keep doing what we’re doing.”
In the corners, Miller sees the M1 much better positioned. “Honestly, I can’t fault the bike in the corners,” he emphasizes. However, once Yamaha loses the advantage in corner grip, it becomes difficult.
That Miller still left Aragon with a positive feeling was mainly due to his own race performance. He made no mistakes and maintained a consistent pace throughout the race. Only a small tussle with Johann Zarco in the first lap caused a brief setback.
“Apart from that, it was a pretty clean race until the end,” says Miller. Tire wear also remained within an expected range for him.
Read more Mercedes-Benz: Källenius celebrates the electric AMG CLA 45 Coupe
“I gave everything, as I said, and practically reached the end of the tire at exactly the right time.” The last lap was “pretty tricky,” but until then he felt the performance was good.
Rins: “I have no explanation”
Alex Rins also states after the weekend in Aragon: “The Yamaha seems to be somewhat better on this track compared to some others. It seems the bike is more consistent here.” When asked why this is, the Spaniard admits: “I have no explanation.” However, he noticed that the Yamaha riders were closer together this time than on other tracks.
On Sunday, it became clear that while the Yamaha worked well, it was by no means suddenly able to fight for the front positions. Rins also started only from 19th place but fought his way up to 13th in the race. This exceeded his own position target.
However, the Spaniard was only partially satisfied. “It was pretty warm out there and very frustrating,” says Rins. His pace was actually good, especially he felt faster than Joan Mir directly ahead of him. However, he could not overtake the Honda competitor.
When Brad Binder finally passed Rins, the Yamaha rider tried to study his line and repeat the overtaking maneuver against Mir. But Rins complains: “Without engine power and without traction, it’s impossible.”
Toprak struggles with tire degradation
Sunday was even more difficult for Toprak Razgatlioglu. He was initially able to fight with competitors from various manufacturers and saw this as an important step forward.
“For me, it was a positive weekend,” says the Pramac rider. Especially in the race, the feeling improved after a difficult start. He found his rhythm and was able to keep up with the opponents.
But during the race, the bike’s behavior changed. As the front tire faded, Razgatlioglu increasingly became a passenger. “I couldn’t maintain my pace anymore,” he explains. In almost every corner, he went wide because the bike no longer reacted the same when braking as before.
Eventually, he crashed. Razgatlioglu’s race ended prematurely. “My biggest problem was the lack of feeling for the front,” the Turk explains in retrospect. Without the front tire drop-off, he would have definitely counted on a result in the range of tenth to twelfth place.
Despite the disappointment, the MotoGP rookie takes a positive aspect with him. Unlike many previous races, this time he was not riding in isolation but was able to fight with riders and bikes from other manufacturers. “We learned something again,” says Razgatlioglu. “We fought with different brands this weekend. That’s positive for me.”
Read more Ex-team boss confident: This rival can still be dangerous to Mercedes in 2026
