Miguel Oliveira is one of the two manufacturers who have caused concern, to say the least, during this off-season summarized in five days on the Sepang and Mandalika tracks. It will be recalled that the Portuguese is a KTM official while the other camp cited is that of Yamaha, with Fabio Quartararo who has not hidden his concern any more than his fatalism... However, given the physiognomy of a field which brings together 19 drivers under the same second per lap, the driver of the RC16 also specifies that all is not lost and that going elsewhere would not necessarily mean a better fate...
Miguel Oliveira was discreet during the off-season at the helm of a KTM where there is still a lot to do while the Grand Prix of Qatar is already imposed. During winter testing in Malaysia, KTM fell behind. Subsequently, they performed better in Indonesia. After the Sepang tests, Olive tree et Brad Binder were not part of the absolute leading group or favorites either.
The Portuguese left the hand to his teammate Brad Binder to keep the heads of Mattighofen's men above water. He even offered himself as a target to the ally's rookies Tech3. However, he is not depressed because it only escaped him during the last day of MotoGP winter testing in Indonesia, 19 pilots found themselves in the same second. The already very high level of drivers and teams has been raised even further. Overall, the peloton has tightened even more. In theory, there have never been so many potential candidates for victory.
« This championship is played out on details », explains the KTM rider Miguel Oliveira. “ Everything is so tight ". Indeed, if he only misses two or three tenths of a second, it could already be difficult to be in the top 10. A situation which makes the Portuguese say that there is no bad bike on the grid starting point: “ all the bikes in the peloton are looking great at the moment. It's all about finding what every rider needs. The rider must adapt to the motorcycle ».
Miguel Oliveira: “ I can’t say that if I switched to another bike my career would completely change with results”
A final remark which opens onto a global reflection, also giving hope to the Yamaha clan… “ There is also all the work of the team. You have to take care of the details " insist on Motorsport-total the triple winner in MotoGP on the RC16. This will involve optimizing the technical package and adapting it to each circuit in order to secure a place in Q2 from free practice.
The time when practically only factory teams Honda et Yamaha could win races and where other teams had virtually no chance is definitely over. It is therefore important to do your homework if you want to succeed, which leads to this reflection which is, to say the least, interesting in an atmosphere marked by agitation on the transfer market: “ I can't say that if I switched to another bike my career would completely change with results. We have to keep working and find what we can find on our motorcycle ". An approach that a Fabio Quartararo, who is deep in thought about his future, would not contradict.
