After six podiums achieved during the season, Miguel Oliveira ended the year with three consecutive victories. As if something had clicked…
This trigger did indeed take place, but above all in his private life, his superiority compared to his opponents in the last rounds of the season perhaps ultimately being only a consequence.
Miguel Oliveira had been worried for weeks about the health of his girlfriend Andrea. Only a handful of Red Bull KTM team members knew why Miguel Oliveira had been so withdrawn for weeks: his girlfriend had suffered serious head injuries in a motorcycle accident in August and his face was partially paralyzed.
After his victory in Australia, the Portuguese driver was fortunately able to bring good news to our colleague Günther Wiesinger for the site speedweek: “Yes, this accident... My friend Andrea was sitting on the back of my motorcycle on August 19 when I fell. She suffered a multiple fracture at the base of her skull. But she completely recovered. It was a big tragedy. »
Completely freed from any worry and guilt that weighed on him, the KTM rider then went on to have a string of successes before returning to his native Portugal to give a press conference, looking ahead to the emerging season... and beyond!
. @OliveiraMoto2's KTM # Moto2 bike visited Portugal 🇵🇹two weeks ago 👏
Hope to see you soon again! Obrigado! 🙌#MotoGP📸 by Oliveira #44 pic.twitter.com/YmHQyt60D9
— Red Bull KTM Ajo (@RedBull_KTM_Ajo) January 8, 2018
Miguel Oliveira : «I know there is a list [of title contenders]. I fit in and it’s a goal for me to be champion. There are a lot of drivers that will give me major headaches. This season I did something that turned out to be very important and that was to not think about others. I have been very focused on myself and, in 2018, it will be like that too. »
The Portuguese driver made no secret of his ambition to win the title but admitted he did not have a defined strategy. Indeed, Red Bull KTM rider Ajo warned of the importance of not getting caught up in expectations that might not be fully realized later.
“I wish I had a strategy, but unmet expectations only fuel disappointment. I know I'm a title contender. »
His mind projects even a little further…
“I would prefer to arrive in MotoGP as champion, but otherwise it is not a problem. »
A MotoGP category of which he had a taste in July in Aragon, during a test of the RC16 offered as a reward by the Austrian manufacturer (see here)
“The difference is brutal and the adaptation was difficult, but in this test I even had positive results. »
The path of the driver who has just celebrated his 23rd birthday therefore seems clear, but he will nevertheless have to have a solid 2018 season before he can claim to apply for the premier category... He supposes that his end-of-season performance "changes the way" that his opponents see him as, but that won't affect his approach for the year to come.
“All the adversities I encountered made me progress. The poorer results nevertheless allowed me to score consistently. The team is important. It's an individual sport, but the one who's by my side counts a lot. »
Miguel Oliveira closed the 2 Moto2017 World Championship in third place, with 241 points, distinguishing himself with three victories, nine podiums and two pole positions.
