When the Japan MotoGP was postponed due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland, Yuki unexpectedly had time on his hands. So he went back to Okegawa Sports Land, the place where it all began, and did a few circuits with friends in preparation for the Spain GP.
Even the Spain GP was in limbo at one stage, but flight schedules were eventually restored in time for Yuki to catch his original flight to Jerez.
Jerez was blessed with fine weather throughout the race week, including summer-like temperatures. The machine setup began from the first racing on Friday. Yuki reached fourth place in the first free practice on the opening day and improved his time in the second free practice on Saturday prior to the formal qualifiers. He recorded his best time in the final 40-minute session and finished fourth, just 0.039 seconds behind top position.

As before, the Jerez circuit attracted enormous crowds, and with less than a second separating the top 20 places in the qualifiers, the main race was shaping up as a spectacularly close contest. And so it unfolded, until a multi-car collision in the second lap brought proceedings to an abrupt halt. Yuki managed to escape unscathed, and headed back for the restart with a renewed determination.

After the restart, Yuki settled into fourth place during the opening lap. On the second lap he moved into third spot, within striking distance of the top group. But the closeness of the battle only served to illustrate the limitations of his machine. Yuki did his utmost to reach the top group and maintain his position, and in the final lap he had the top group within his sights. However he didn't have the capacity to bridge the gap, and he knew that if he overdid it he could well end up repeating the mistake of the previous race. Given the condition of his machine, Yuki resigned himself to staying put and crossing the finish line in fourth place.