Miguel Oliveira’s future in MotoGP is yet to be seen, but it seems that staying at Trackhouse or joining Pramac – Yamaha’s new satellite – are the strongest possibilities for the Portuguese rider. Michael Laverty is of the opinion that the rider hasn’t ‘done enough’ to deserve the trust and promotion to the factory team, but that, combined with his high potential, he could change the course of events.
The former rider continues to pay close attention to the reality of MotoGP and made some comments about the Portuguese rider, explaining why Aprilia didn’t put their faith in him to move up to the factory team, speaking to TNT Sports: ‘He hasn’t done enough to warrant it. We all know Miguel’s ability but you’ve got to deliver in this sport’.
However, he believes, with the German GP something may have changed and the #88 will finally have found the settings it needs to extract its real potential, in his opinion: ‘Now that he’s found a little bit of something with his base set-up, and he can arrive at a track and work on the details, that’s when you extract the most from yourself and your riding style. He hadn’t found that sweet spot but he’s there now’.
Yamaha’s interest in putting him on the Pramac is public and it makes sense for Paolo Campinoti’s team to think about the Portuguese, as the Briton explained: ‘We know Yamaha are interested in him because he’s one of the most clever riders on the grid. He’s got experience and he’s still young. He’s got a high level of potential if they unlock it’.
However Laverty left one question hanging in the air, and one certainty: ‘You can see why Yamaha would offer him a contract. Would he go for that, over the [Trackhouse] contract because he’s been passed by [for the factory Aprilia]? Maybe not. He’s a clever rider who will make the right decision’.