The Portuguese Miguel Oliveira (KTM) has revealed that he has “found” his bike after two days of MotoGP tests, for the World Championship in Motorcycling Speed, which ended this Wednesday in San Marino.
The Portuguese driver was the 15th fastest of the day, with a time of 1.32.898 minutes, 1.314 seconds from the fastest, the Spanish Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia), worsening about 0.8 seconds compared to the previous time.
His best lap was the 14th of 24 at the Marco Simoncelli circuit, on a day when he tested some aerodynamic components and parts with a view to the next season.
“The tests were good because we were more competitive in the lap time. We managed to do a lot of work. Yesterday we tried to figure out the setting that best suits me to be fast. Today we tested some aerodynamic parts. I hope to translate this into good parts and a good one package for the rest of the season”, stressed the pilot from Almada, in a conversation with journalists after the work session.
Miguel Oliveira was more “satisfied” with the bike he tested with after a difficult weekend at the San Marino Grand Prix, in which he was ranked 20th.
“We found something in the electronics that was really wrong. We identified and solved the problems. I managed to get my bike back, something I didn’t have in the last few races. I believe we have a good solution for the next races,” he said.
Questioned by the Lusa agency, the Portuguese driver declined to reveal the reasons for the problems he had encountered in the last five races, but was satisfied with the path found.
“Yes, we realized what was wrong, but I won’t reveal it, these are technical details. We believe we managed to solve it, that’s what the tests are for. If we didn’t find it, we were amateurs”, stressed Oliveira, who tested parts “for both this and for the next season”.
The KTM driver sees no relationship between the difficulties encountered this year on some circuits and the loss of concessions that allowed KTM to carry out more tests.
Miguel Oliveira really believes that “at the end of October” it will be possible to “show” that KTM has evolved.
“I leave in a better mood than when I arrived here. I was more competitive, I got good lap times, but we didn’t worry about doing ‘time attacks’ [voltas rápidas]. At the end of October we will have a chance to show that we have improved. My feeling with the bike is back to normal. We are satisfied,” he guaranteed.
The next race will be in Austin, Texas (USA), a circuit where the championship has not been held for two years.
“I have no idea how the bike will behave in Austin. Last time, it was my second or third race as a rookie. My references are not the best. Let’s see. It will be a weekend of discovery,” he said.
Miguel Oliveira also left a word to André Pires, who ended his first MotoE championship this weekend, for electric motorcycles.
“I’ll be happy if I can continue to have the Portuguese flag on the circuits,” he said.
This Wednesday was also marked by the debut of Raul Fernandez and Remi Gardner for Tech3 KTM, the satellite team of the Austrian home.
The two Moto2 riders finished 21st and 22nd respectively.
– .
