Miguel Oliveira finished 17th in the timed practice session of the Portuguese MotoGP Grand Prix. Despite securing the eighth position in the first free practice, the Trackhouse Racing rider faced difficulties with front grip on the bike, which reflected in struggles to be fast in certain sections of the track.
The Almada-born rider stated to the press: ‘We have little grip at the front, and that doesn’t allow me to stop the bike as well. In the end, the first sector, of everything, is where I lose the least time – the first and the third sectors. I don’t have many complaints about braking straight, but I don’t have front grip, so I can’t make the fast corners with the bike turning in the right place. I lose a lot of time in the last sector with two downhill corners. So it’s difficult, very difficult’.
When asked about the apparent differences in approach to the last corner between the two training sessions of the day, Oliveira clarified: ‘In the first [free] practice, we were all very slow; it was a session where it was difficult to create some base. Even so, we were more or less competitive. But in the afternoon, from the first moment, I went to the limit; I rode with the medium tyre at the back, I immediately did 1m40.0s. I couldn’t improve 1m40.0s. Then I did 1m39.0s with the new tires, and that’s all there is to give. There’s nothing more to give. The soft tyre at the back here works well for two/three laps, maybe it’s possible to use the soft for the Sprint. But for the long race, it really has to be the medium’.
Regarding the track conditions, #88 commented: ‘It’s slippery, and at the end of the training session, the temperature dropped a lot. It’s a bit tricky, but that’s Portimão’.
With the feedback provided to the team, Oliveira now put the task on their side to progress this Saturday. When asked if he’s confident for tomorrow, he replied: ‘I have to be, obviously, nothing is lost, I have to grab those two spots in Q1’.
In «Falcão’s» understanding, Maverick Viñales may be facing similar difficulties: ‘I didn’t have time to look at his data. I know more or less from the sectors where he might be a little faster than me, but from what I saw, he has more or less the same difficulties. But today, doing 1m38.5s wasn’t very difficult. I had to have more grip at the front, and I don’t. Now the team has to understand that’.