Miguel Oliveira does not rule out fighting for podiums

Portuguese rider Miguel Oliveira (Yamaha) expresses his intention to regain confidence on the bike, after returning to competition at the French MotoGP Grand Prix, and does not rule out fighting for podiums.

Still recovering from the ligament injury in his left shoulder, suffered in the sprint race of the Argentine Grand Prix, the second round of the World Motorcycle Speed ​​Championship, on March 15, which kept him out of three races, the Portuguese rider from the Prima Pramac team wants to get back to his speed before the summer break. “Before the summer break, I would like to, sooner rather than later and with the necessary calm, get back to my speed, recover all the confidence I had in the bike and continue on this upward path”, he said in an interview with Lusa. Although he admits that it would be “a great result to be able to finish the races within the points, especially within the top 10”, he does not rule out fighting for the three most coveted positions. “If I can make good progress in the next races and if I have an opportunity on the right weekend, I will not rule myself out of that fight, of course. That is why I am there”, he pointed out.

However, the rider from Almada, who ended up crashing at turn 14 on the 20th lap of the Le Mans circuit, argued that Frenchman Fabio Quartararo, from the main Japanese team, is the one who can fight for podiums and explained why. “At the moment, realistically, I believe that Fabio Quartararo is the Yamaha rider who can fight for those podiums. He can extract all the potential that the bike has at the moment. For all the other riders it is more difficult. He has many seasons on this bike and it is natural that in a qualifying environment he can extract all the potential that exists”, he argued.

Regarding the new version of the bike he came across at the French Grand Prix, the rider from Almada was pleased with the “step taken in the right direction”, which “greatly helps to have increasingly positive perspectives and closer to the objectives in relation to the next Grand Prix”. “The bike has been a positive evolution. I have already found a different chassis and swingarm, an engine with an update that has a little more power in the right place, which is important. The biggest difference was, without a doubt, the electronics upgrades we had”, he detailed.

Although he only has two points in the riders' standings due to his injury, Oliveira indicated that "the only thing that could jeopardise his continuity in MotoGP is myself". "It's me [who could jeopardise it]. It's good to know that I only depend on myself, but, as for the standings, it's not something that worries me", he stressed.

The Portuguese Grand Prix, the penultimate race of the World Championship, is scheduled for November, between 7 and 9 November, unlike the last two editions, with the Portuguese rider highlighting the importance of gaining “more experience with the bike” until then. “It’s excellent [to happen at the end of the year]. It would be the best possible scenario to be able to do the home race at the end of the year, when we have more experience accumulated with the bike. That makes me much more comfortable than if the race were at the beginning of the season. I’m happy and looking forward to that moment”, he concluded.