On the timesheet for the Valencia test, it escaped no one's notice that Miguel Oliveira, barely off his KTM and just riding his Aprilia, was in fourth place, and between the two official riders of the brand seasoned in RS-GP, namely Maverick Viñales and Aleix Espargaró. We will therefore describe this start of adventure between the Portuguese driver, Razlan Razali's team and Noale's coat of arms as encouraging. Direct exchanges between the pilots have even begun. Everyone seems happy. The proof…
To all honor, let's start with the one who leads the team on the field, but who is no longer its boss since its sponsor became the majority in its capital, i.e. Razlan Razali…The Malaysian did not hide his smile as the first day of the start of the RNF partnership with Aprilia : “ it is fantastique to finally be able to get our hands on the Aprilia RS-GP and to meet our drivers for testing. It was a feeling fantastique, this is something we have been waiting for for a while this year, because it has been a long and very difficult season for us. Finally being able to test with Miguel and Raul is fantastique ", said Razali, founder and director of RNF, speaking to SportTV during the Valencia tests.
The Malaysian then added: “ I talked to them during lunch and they were always smiling. Miguel's only regret is not having owned this type of motorcycle sooner, but it's better late than never. It's not the end, it's just the beginning. Our move from Yamaha to Aprilia was easy thanks to Aprilia's support. We have a lot of technical support from Aprilia Racing, with Massimo Rivola leading the way. This gets the relationship between the factory team and our team off to a good start. “, continued the team boss.
« I was very eager to receive the sensations from the pilots, in particular from Miguel Oliveira«
Then, Razali did not ignore the visit ofAleix Espargaro at the NWA garage to speak to Oliveira, and said he thought it was the start of a really good story for the team: “ that Aleix speaks to Miguel, here's what's expected from the team, the factory and the independent team. I think this is the start of a very beautiful relationship. ».
For his part, the head of Noale technique, Romano Albesiano, has already been won over by the five-time MotoGP winner on KTM: “ he is a very intelligent driver, he works very correctly, step by step, he is very clear and of course very fast. I was really looking forward to getting the feedback from the drivers, especially Miguel, and we had very positive feelings. I am very happy and it was a very important day for us at Aprilia ».
In his assessment of his pace, Miguel Oliveira admitted that he did not expect such a pace, as he explained to the microphones of Sporttv : " really going fast wasn't in my plans, at least this Tuesday, but things ended up happening and i felt perfectly on the wordo, I had a lot of fun ". He finishes : " the truth is that I don't know the limits of the bike and I still feel a little far from them. Being ready to start the championship well is our goal ».
