RiderTua.com – After Jorge Martin (Pramac Ducati) crashed, Miguel Oliveira was in 6th place in Sunday’s race at Jerez. But then had to let Enea Bastianini and (4 laps before the end) Fabio di Giannantonio overtake him. “Two mistakes made me lose two positions. That was annoying,” said the Aprilia Trackhouse rider.
“We made small changes to the geometry and it paid off. It was clear on Friday in the dry that the bike would work well with the Michelin medium compound and this was confirmed in Sunday’s race. The balance is good with proper grip on the rear wheel ,” said Oliveira, who finished 8th, losing almost 11 seconds behind winner Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati).
Miguel Oliveira: How to overtake Marc Marquez and endanger other riders
At the start Miguel Oliveira also avoided mistakes in the sprint race and just before the first corner he turned off the holeshot device on his Aprilia RS-GP, which pushed the bike into suspension and brought it lower on takeoff. That makes things easier, even if he loses 0.1 seconds anywhere, it’s to keep up with the front runners, he said with a smile.
Overall the Portuguese rider felt stronger when braking hard and turning, and his Aprilia’s handling was much better in fast corners. Oliveira said that was a good sign. Overall, the speed is much better and the bike is amazing to ride. He was happy with his race and after a difficult first weekend of the season, the 28-year-old rider was happy to have made it to the finish line in both Saturday and Sunday’s races.
The hard overtaking maneuver that Marc Marquez performed during the sprint race has caused a heated debate between the two. Oliveira told the Gresini team newcomer that he owed him a new windshield and air filter because a stone had been thrown.
Oliveira told Marc that the way to overtake was to push himself into a gap half the length of the bike and then release the brakes. And if the opponent counterattacks on the outside lane, he just leans on him and if he falls he will fall, said Oliveira annoyed.
But Marc casually answered, “That’s right, that’s how I overtake. That’s my only choice!”
