Miguel Oliveira has been the only Portuguese to reach the MotoGP World Championship so far. Despite his influence on young aspiring riders looking to pursue a career in motorcycle racing, no other compatriot has emerged who is clearly on the path to a potential future in the premier class.
During a press conference before the Portuguese GP, Oliveira was asked whether there are Portuguese riders who could eventually make it to the world championships. In response, the Trackhouse Racing rider stated:
– Look at my right, you see three Spanish guys. I feel a little bit an outsider in the championship sometimes because I was an unique case. Many ingredients came together for me to perform and to arrive in the World Championship. If any other Portuguese rider is able to reach the World Championship, I cannot answer for sure, I don’t know because I don’t have the ingredients. Also when I started 15 years ago, what you needed back then was completely different than the needs of the kids now. It’s a generational difference there. I don’t know what they need at the moment to come to the World Championship.