Image: Supplied.

A broken chain in the closing stages of the Japanese GP resulted in no points scored for Prima Pramac Racing Yamaha’s Jack Miller, with both he and the team experiencing a difficult weekend at the 17th round of the MotoGP World Championship.

The 30-year-old qualified 14th around the Motegi circuit, before running in 11th position until the final lap of the sprint race, where he would crash out of the encounter.

For Sunday’s 24-lap race, Miller would hold 14th place despite lacking grip throughout the middle stages, only to snap the chain on his YZR-M1 with three laps remaining, and draw an early end to his grand prix.

“Not an easy weekend, but we will move forward,” commented Miller after the race. “I was pretty conservative with the map from the beginning and felt we could have had a little bit more. Talking with Fabio [Quartararo], it seems he experienced similar problems. The drop came early in the race – I tried to save the tire on corner exits, but it was still there.

“I was closing in on Diggia [Fabio Di Giannantonio], but with three laps to go, the chain snapped, and that was the end. It was a weekend where I felt I had good potential but was unable to exploit it, especially since being stuck in Q1 always makes things tougher.”

Miller is currently classified 18th in the overall series standings on 58 points, with five rounds left to contest in this year’s MotoGP World Championship season.