“Almost impossible”: Two Yamaha riders lose rear brake in Jerez MotoGP

Yamaha riders Jack Miller and Augusto Fernandez both faced rear brake issues in Sunday’s Spanish MotoGP at Jerez.

Pramac rider Miller, starting 22nd on the grid, lost his just after passing Diogo Moreira for 17th.

“Decent pace up until mid race,” Miller said. “I’d just cleared Diogo and had two decent laps closing on the group in front and then I lost the rear brake.

“I thought I’d boiled it but it never came back. I had to understand how to ride the bike without the rear brake which was tricky at Turn 2, 6 and the last corner, just trying to get the bike to pivot was really difficult. We had a little broken sensor there…”

The Australian finished 18th, meaning he is yet to score a point on the V4.

“In general, it was one of those weekends where we just can’t seem to get lucky. But it’s not through a lack of trying. We’re working our butt off. We’ve got the test to try and find some more steps.”

“Almost impossible”

Wildcard Augusto Fernandez, who qualified as the top Yamaha in 16th place in the wet on Saturday morning, lost his rear brake after early contact… with Miller!

Despite the “almost impossible” situation, the Spaniard was determined to reach the flag, finishing 20th and last.

“The race was tough. The rear brake broke on the second lap after I touched Jack,” Fernandez said. “It’s almost impossible to complete a race without that, but I just tried to do all 25 laps, even if we were not going that fast.

“I also had to train myself to be ready for the next wild-card opportunity. Because of the rear brake issue, today’s feeling on the bike and the data are not so easy to compare.

“Let’s see what the other guys say after they get to test the same things tomorrow.”

Fabio Quartararo was the top Yamaha rider in 14th.