The Portuguese rider Miguel Oliveira (KTM) assumed that the triumph in the Portuguese MotoGP Grand Prix left him wanting to race again immediately, stressing that this domain is repeatable and improveable on his return to the Algarve circuit.
“It's possible [to repeat] and it's possible to improve too. There is no rule that says you cannot repeat or improve a result. Therefore, even if it was 'pole position', a quick lap and a victory, there is always something that can be improved”, said the pilot from Almada, in an interview with Lusa agency.
The 2021 edition of the main speed motorcycling world championship will resume on Sunday, in Qatar, with the first of two races at the Losail circuit, before returning to Portimão, the stage, on 22 November 2020, of the last one. proof of last season.
“It came back, that anxiety came back, maybe a week after the race, because, after what happened on Sunday in Portimão, I wanted to do two or three races in a row right away. But all that excitement of winning the Grand Prix also went away and the focus shifted to preparing for this season,” he explained.
Miguel Oliveira will line up in the KTM main team, after two seasons at Tech3, with 17th and ninth places at the Worlds, but also with his first two victories in the premier class, the first in the Styrian Grand Prix, in Austria, on August 23, and, despite hesitating, the one that caused the biggest smile hidden by the helmet.
“Maybe Portimão. Portimão was very special, Austria was the breaking of a gigantic barrier, a very unexpected victory, with an overtaking in the last corner. Therefore, the explosion of adrenaline and happiness was completely different from that of Portimão, where there was preparation and a result that already predicted a little bit of what the race was going to be like. But, even with all that uncertainty, Portimão turned out to be a Grand Prix technically with a performance far, far above that of Austria's victory. So he hid a big smile,” he recalled.
After having closed the 2020 season, due to rescheduling due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Grand Prix of Portugal will be the third race of the year, scheduled for April 18, when "there is still not much to lose" , allowing a performance “without pressure” and with the intention of “having fun on this great track”, where only the public was missing.
“Of course, yes. I believe that, in the last victory, that was all that was needed to be an epic victory, which was to celebrate it with a public in the stands. I believe it can happen, but if it doesn't happen this year, we will have to repeat the Grand Prix for that to happen”, he stressed.
At 26 years old, Miguel Oliveira will face the 11th season in the World of Speed Motorcycling, the third season in MotoGP, after having been runner-up in the world in Moto2 in 2018, and in Moto3 in 2015.
In his debut year, in the 125cc class, in 2011, Miguel Oliveira had been seventh in the Grand Prix of Portugal, then disputed at the Estoril circuit, where he would retire the following year, already in Moto3.
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