MotoGP's return to Brno after a five-year absence offered an unpredictable and intense first day of action for the riders due to the rain. At Pramac, the team was able to count on the speed of Jack Miller in tricky conditions, but Oliveira's day was punctuated by technical difficulties and a lack of feeling that hampered his ambitions.
From early morning, the Czech skies alternated between showers and calm spells, making the Brno track alternately wet and then dry. In these tricky conditions, the gaps fluctuated constantly. The Portuguese driver had to settle for 12th on the fastest time, unable to exploit his potential.
At the start of the afternoon, the track continued to evolve: his garage neighbour confirmed the competitiveness of the Yamaha in the wet (sixth best time), while Oliveira, penalised by a bad feeling at the front, struggled to find the expected speed in the key sectors.
When it comes to taking stock of this first day of action (see press release), Miguel Oliveira does not hide his difficulties: “My main problem is that I'm overworking the front tire. The drier the track, the less speed I can carry into the corners, and I also lose a lot under braking. We need to reduce the load on the front. Certainly, in the middle of the practice session, with different tires and a different strategy, I could have gone a little faster, but this feeling in the front is holding me back. When you enter a corner, you don't want that floating at the front. In the wet, however, the feeling was good, the grip was solid, I was happy.”
However, he admits that he didn't try everything with tires and strategy during the session, keeping some confidence for the rest. In Q1, the competition will be tough, but the Pramac driver believes in it: "Now let's see what tomorrow brings. I remain very confident, especially considering the work we did during testing. Q1 will be close. There are a lot of fast riders, like Pecco [Bagnaia], Diggia [Fabio Di Giannantonio], Brad [Binder], but I have to stay confident."
