Enea Bastianini issues four-word reason why MotoGP rival Jack Miller was once his role model

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KTM Tech3 star Enea Bastianini and Pramac Yamaha ace Jack Miller have been rivals since the former debuted on the premier class grid during the 2021 MotoGP season.

Miller has been a part of the premier class paddock since he debuted for LCR Honda back in the 2015 MotoGP season. The Australian shot straight up from Moto3 into the top tier, and he has gone on to register four Grand Prix wins through his 195 starts over the past decade.

Bastianini briefly shared the Moto3 grid with Miller in 2014, as the Italian penned his world championship debut in the lightweight class that year. His route to MotoGP then featured a two-year stint in Moto2 in 2019 and ‘20, before breaking through with Esponsorama in ‘21.

The 2014 Moto3 season also marked Miller’s best term in the class, as he finished second to Alex Marquez for the title by a mere two points. Miller scored six wins and 10 podiums in 18 races, but Marquez won the Moto3 title despite him taking only three wins and 10 podiums.

Jack Miller was Enea Bastianini’s role model in Moto3 thanks to his ‘madman’ persona

Miller pushed Marquez for the 2014 Moto3 title riding for KTM Ajo in his third full season in the class, having also featured sporadically in the 2011 125cc campaign. Yet, despite his lack of relative experience, Bastianini saw Miller as his role model due to his “madman” persona.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Enea Bastianini from net worth to career stats

His early days in the world championship paddock saw Miller receive the nickname ‘Jackass’ due to his attitude and approach, both on and off a bike, which stood out to Bastianini. The Townsville, Queensland native also later merited the nickname ‘Thriller’ when he matured.

“At first, I was thinking about learning and having fun. I was 16 after all,” Bastianini has told Gazzetta dello Sport. On his role models, Bastianini added: “Miller. A madman even then.”

Bastianini joined Moto3 in 2014 after finishing fourth in the 2013 Red Bull Rookies Cup. The Rimini native even took three podiums in his rookie season, including P3 in the 2014 Moto3 British Grand Prix as Alex Rins won ahead of Marquez by 0.011s and by 0.072s to Bastianini.

Enea Bastianini and Jack Miller have shared two MotoGP podiums

Bastianini never shared a Moto3 podium with Miller in 2014. His two other lightweight class podiums as a rookie for Gresini were a debut rostrum in P2 in the Catalan Grand Prix behind Marquez by 3.236s and another P2 in the Czech Grand Prix behind Alexis Masbou by 0.157s.

Bastianini rejected an offer to join VR46’s Moto3 team for the 2015 campaign, as the Italian felt at home in the lightweight class at Gresini, while Miller moved straight up to MotoGP in 2015. Since reuniting in MotoGP in 2021, they have shared two Grand Prix podiums to date.

Miller, riding for the factory Ducati team, rounded out the podium places in P3 as Bastianini won the 2022 MotoGP Americas Grand Prix for Gresini with a 2.058s lead over Suzuki’s Rins. Bastianini also beat Miller by 2.718s to win the 2022 MotoGP French Grand Prix at Le Mans.