Ai Ogura says Jack Miller is still his idol 12 years after noticing the ‘incredible’ Australian

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Ai Ogura says Jack Miller is still his idol 12 years on from becoming a “big fan” due to the Australian’s overtaking skills that saw him jump straight from Moto3 to MotoGP.

Miller made the rare move by graduating directly from the lightweight class into the premier class back in 2015. Honda placed Miller at their satellite team LCR with a factory contract for his rookie MotoGP season, having been captivated by his form in the 2014 Moto3 title fight.

Some of Miller’s modern MotoGP rivals, such as Ogura, also took notice of his performances in Moto3 12 years ago. Enea Bastianini viewed Miller as a role model for his persona back in 2014, after they shared the Moto3 grid following the Italian’s debut in the lightweight class.

Alex Marquez won the Moto3 title in 2014 on a Honda NSF250RW by two points over Miller on a KTM RC250GP. Yet HRC bosses saw the potential that Miller had to offer, after he made 10 podiums and took six wins over 18 rounds against Marquez’s three wins and 10 rostrums.

Ai Ogura became a ‘big fan’ of Jack Miller due to his overtaking ability in Moto3

Ogura was 13 years old when Miller, aged 19, fought Marquez, aged 18, for the 2014 Moto3 title. Despite there being just six years between them, Ogura became a “big fan” of Miller’s through his overtaking skills on the KTM RC250GP and “loved” watching him under braking.

READ MORE: The best moments of Jack Miller’s MotoGP career

Even today, having shared the MotoGP grid for the past two seasons, Ogura regards Miller as his idol. After rejecting Honda’s offer to join LCR, Ogura made his MotoGP debut racing for Trackhouse in 2025 – at the same time that Miller moved to Pramac as a Yamaha rider.

“Yes,” Ogura told Moto.it when asked whether Miller is still his idol. “I was a big fan of his. Back in 2014, when he was fighting for the Moto3 title, his braking was incredible. I loved watching him overtake the others under braking. It was fantastic.”

One bad race essentially cost Miller the Moto3 title in 2014 to Marquez, who finished in the top seven in the 16 races that he took the chequered flag. Miller and Marquez both retired from two races, but the Australian finished P27 at Aragon to pen his only non-top six finish.

Miller then endured a difficult debut in MotoGP with LCR in 2015, before Honda moved him to Marc VDS for 2016 and 2017. Marc VDS even saw Miller take his debut MotoGP race win in the 2016 Dutch Grand Prix, for what has proven to be the first of his four race wins so far.