At the end of FP1 in Assen, we started to think that Oliveira's good series with his KTM would end in Holland. Falling 14s1 behind leader Viñales from his 3th position, the Portuguese finally seemed to be back in line after a series of podiums since Mugello. The ace ! The competition took its toll during FP2 which saw the winner of Catalonia gain a second and 11 places to be in the leading trio, three tenths behind the same Viñales. And there is not one of his opponents who does not consider him a favorite for the race this Sunday…
The brand KTM has demonstrated for several Grands Prix that it has a rapid reaction force in its workshop in Mattighofen. But at Assen, this Friday, she showed that she was even lightning fast. It only took him a few hours between two free practice sessions to reverse a poorly started trend!
In the space of a lunch break, the Portuguese regained his appetite on the track.Assen. “ We didn't start well, but in the afternoon I immediately felt better ", has explained Olive tree. " Unfortunately, it started to rain. This is why we could not show our true potential and unfortunately we couldn't find where the limit was. But that was the case for all the pilots. We will also be prepared for all conditions on Saturday and will try to move straight into Q2 ».
« Our changes have helped, the bike is now more agilee” he said. “ That was our goal and we have a good base for a dry and wet weekend. But we still have to work a little to know what the next steps could bes”, further explains Olive tree.
Oliveira: “we could not show our true potential”
The situation with the tires cannot yet really be assessed, because the session he was given in the morning prevented him from exploiting the potential of his KTM with the medium tire. “ But I think the grip level is okay. You have good grip even on wet surfaces. There are a few bumps on the track, but overall the ride is very smooth. We used the standard hard tire and not the one that Michelin brought ", said Olive tree.
The World Cup seventh has been on the podium three times recently and believes he will also play a good role in the Netherlands: “ our goal was to be more agile in fast corners, and we managed to achieve this result. We would have liked to do more laps in the dry, whereas in the wet we have a good race pace. I think if it rains tomorrow we would be in a good position to be competitive ". Optimism is therefore in order, with this certainty that the best is to come, since Miguel Oliveira has not yet had the opportunity to show everything on his KTM...
MotoGP Assen J1: combined classification
Credit classification motogp.com
