Portuguese rider Miguel Oliveira (KTM) was this Saturday 11th in qualifying for the Portuguese MotoGP Grand Prix, which will take place on Sunday at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, in Portimão.
Frenchman Johann Zarco (Ducati) secured pole position, while Spaniard Joan Mir (Suzuki) starts from 2nd position, after finishing 0,195 seconds behind the Frenchman, with fellow Spaniard Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia) in 3rd, 0,232 seconds behind. .
This morning, the rain that hit the Algarve circuit made Miguel Oliveira the fastest in free practice, but when the sun started to appear, the track conditions, dry in some areas, but wet in others, ended up dictate the 11th position of the pilot from Almada.
Miguel Oliveira, in statements to journalists, explained his failure in qualifying with «a small technical setback». However, he stressed, «it is not the end of anything».
The KTM rider did not want to set any goals for this Sunday's race, although he admitted that he comes to the Autódromo do Algarve «always to win». “We always want to compete in Portimão to win, not to be out of the top-5”, he added.
Taking into account the instability of the weather, Miguel Oliveira said he prefers to wait for the warm-up before the race, so that he can «get a clearer idea of how the race will be».
The Portuguese GP is the fifth race of the Motorcycle World Championship.
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