Marquez backs ‘special’ Miller

Miller was thrown into the deep end last season when Honda promoted him all the way from Moto3 to MotoGP in one go. Following his debut season he was given a boost by being placed in the Marc VDS squad, which led to Miller taking his first premier class win in Holland.

If and when he will make the next step to a full factory bike remains unclear – although Marquez, who last weekend wrapped up his third top-tier title on a works Honda, reckons that the faith shown to promote him so quickly from Moto3 is a clear sign of Honda’s intentions.

“Jack is special. He’s special because normally nobody goes from Moto3 to MotoGP directly, but he did it,” said Marquez.

“He doesn’t care about the rest. When you ride with him you can see he has got a lot of talent. Of course you need to understand the bike and everything, but I believe he will be a fast rider.

“At the moment he has a contract with Honda, and the plan of Honda maybe will be [the works Repsol team], if they take him from Moto3 to MotoGP. But in the end, if you’re in the MotoGP class it is hard. You have to work, you have to push.

“All the riders want a factory bike, all the riders want to be in the best team in the world. My work is to try and stay there, then we will see [with] which teammate. But I think he has the talent.”

Top 8 "like a victory"

Despite missing out on a short-term promotion to the works team for this weekend, Miller will still be the centre of attention at Phillip Island.

The Dutch TT winner will make his second start in the premier class at his home GP on Sunday, and his first as a race winner. But he has warned the home support not to get too excited about his chances, claiming that a Top 8 finish would be as good as a win.

“Everyone asks me what I think, and a lot of people who don’t focus on racing think that because they hear we got one victory this year that we’re fighting for the podium,” he said. “But this is not the fact at the moment.

“If I can get inside the Top 8, that would feel like a victory. Anything inside Top 10 I’d be happy with this weekend.”