Miguel Oliveira, Moto3 World Championship runner-up, wants to fight for the victory of the Parkalgar team in the Algarve stage of the FIM EWC – Endurance World Championship/Endurance World Championship, which takes place from June 10th to 12th, at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve , in Portimão.
Confessing that "for a long time" he has not experienced "the feeling of racing in Portugal", he who is the best Portuguese motorcycling rider of all time, said yesterday, at the presentation of the Algarve team Parkalgar Racing, to go "give everything" of themselves, to «be able to carry the flag of Portugal on their backs and offer the Portuguese public a good result».
«It is a new challenge», admitted Miguel Oliveira, for whom the «Moto2 World Championship is the current priority». "But I also wanted to put a lot of myself in this participation" in the World Endurance, he confessed.
Miguel Oliveira is teaming up with another Miguel, Praia, who was also the best Portuguese motorcycling rider and withdrew from official competitions at the end of last season. Parkalgar Racing Team will also have a third driver, who is not chosen, but who should not be Portuguese.
Yesterday, before the eyes of journalists from all over the country, the Autódromo do Algarve was the stage to present the only Portuguese team to dispute the 12 Hours of Resistance in Portimão, the Portuguese round of this World Endurance Championship that is being presented for the first time in Portugal. But the 1 cubic centimeter Yamaha R1000 bike was also presented, with Superbike specifications, with which the trio of Parkalgar riders will fight for victory.
Miguel Praia, in turn, stressed that “our main objective is to win”. But, he admitted, “we have a lot to do: our experience is in racing sprint, 40, 50 minutes maximum. And here it will be completely different. We have to prepare ourselves and tune the bike for this distance. It will be a team race in the truest sense of the word, we will have to help each other a lot, the work will have to be very well oiled, not only ours but the mechanics' ones, changing the wheels, everything».
The Algarve driver, who for several years represented Parkalgar in the Supersport World Championships, stressed that the team will be «a kind of national team, bringing together the two Migueis and bringing together the best that exists in Portugal, with the best national circuit».
Paulo Pinheiro, administrator of Parkalgar, which manages the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, made a point of stressing that the Portuguese team will have «the two riders who are the best ever in the history of Motorcycling in Portugal».
«I never thought it would be possible to join the best Portuguese driver, Miguel Oliveira, with the previous best Portuguese driver, Miguel Praia. Here we have the two best drivers ever in Portugal», he stressed. «This combination gives me enormous pride».
Pinheiro hopes to receive at the Autodromo, during the long weekend of June 10th to 12th, something like 50 thousand people. Moreover, he guarantees that this is «a different race, always with a lot of adrenaline and lots of excitement around».
«Only in terms of organization – that is, teams, drivers, mechanics – we are talking about around 6000 people» who will come to the Algarve for the EWC race.
But, Paulo Pinheiro told the Sul Informação, «this weekend, we also have the Spanish Kart Championship, with 1500 more people. In other words, on these days, we will have more than 7000 people here only directly connected to the races, apart from the public, who we hope will come in force, because of ticket prices and the fact that we allow people to circulate in places where they haven't before. they could go, like the VIP Tower, or between the go-kart track and the racecourse. We will also have a go-kart track inside for the public to enjoy. We want this to be a big party and we want people to use the long weekend to have fun».
The administrator of Parkalgar, the company that manages the Autódromo do Algarve, admitted that the reactivation of the team for this World Endurance race represented a «big investment». But it turned out to be easier to gather the necessary sponsorships thanks to the presence of the Moto3 world runner-up and current Moto2 rider.
«Clearly, having Miguel Oliveira with us allowed us to create this visibility with the brands and they bet on us – Banco CTT, Cofidis, Solverde, Pestana, Garrafeira Soares, Yamaha – all these brands allowed us to have the necessary budget to reactivate the team, with everything as it should be, with training, etc. If that weren't the case, we wouldn't have embarked on this adventure either».
Paulo Pinheiro guarantees a return not only for the brands, but also for the Algarve and the country. «It is a project that will have a huge media impact, because we have Miguel Oliveira, who is clearly one of the top sportsmen in Portugal at the moment, and because it is a race with a huge return in terms of television. There is no race that has a television return like this, due to the number of hours of exposure and transmission and the importance that Eurosport is giving to this championship. Therefore, we think that the conditions are in place to make it beneficial for any company to join us for this race».
“Eurosport picked up this championship two years ago, which is gaining in importance. There's a huge TV coverage of Eurosport, it's 12 hours of race and a large part of the race will be broadcast live», added the official.
And, taking into account that this is the EWC's first visit to the Algarve circuit, Paulo Pinheiro guarantees that everything is being done so that «our race asserts itself as one of the best in the championship».
Desidério Silva, president of the Algarve Tourism Region, also attended the presentation of the Parkalgar Racing team and the race. In declarations to the Sul Informação, the person responsible for tourism in the Algarve stressed: «we are a region that has to support and bet on the diversity of the offer, in everything that complements Sun and Beach and Golf».
And motor sports, not only the races held at the Autodromo, but also the experiences that people can live there, namely at the Racing School, «are something very good, and we have one of the most fantastic equipment in the world. ».
"These races have a great international impact", said Desidério Silva, who valued the broadcast of the 12 hours of the race on Eurosport, since, "behind the image of the motorcycle, there is also something from the Algarve".
Paulo Pinheiro also hopes that the work of the Parkalgar Racing Team and the Autodromo will have «success in sporting terms, but also results in terms of audience and dissemination of the image of Portimão, Algarve and Portugal» around the world.
Proving that to achieve any good result you have to work – a lot! – Miguel Oliveira and Miguel Praia went to try out the Honda R1 right away. And the speed at which they passed on the finish straight – close to 300 km/hour – was just an appetizer for the adrenaline of the EWC days, between the 10th and 12th of June, at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve.
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