RiderTua.com – Bad memories of the 2023 Portimao GP came back to Miguel Oliveira’s mind. Where the Trackhouse Aprilia rider was brutally rammed by Marc Marquez (while on Honda) which resulted in him suffering a hip injury and being forced to miss the Argentine GP. Meanwhile, Marc himself suffered an injury to his hand.
The first series of the 2023 MotoGP season at the Algarve circuit resulted in disaster for Oliveira. He was dramatically knocked out of his home race in Portugal by Marc Marquez, further highlighting the problems at Honda, whose performance was getting worse.
Miguel Oliveira Hopes That With Ducati, Marc Marquez Will Be Fine in His Home Race
After the incident, Aleix Espargaro raged at Marquez afterwards. According to Aleix, the organizers must prohibit Marc from racing at least once. However, Espargaro feels he is not the one making the rules. He just hoped that Miguel was okay. “The severity of the collision can destroy our knees,” emphasized the 34 year old Aprilia rider.
Marc Marquez and Repsol Honda had to receive a double long lap penalty. The wording of the penalty stipulates that it will be given specifically in the next series in Argentina, which Marquez continues to miss due to injury.
When the FIM Stewards tried to re-determine the punishment that would be applied to Marquez’s comeback, Honda successfully appealed. So no punishment was given to Marquez. But Marquez didn’t finish the main race until 10th due to the injury he suffered at Portimao plus another crash. On the other hand, Oliveira was also hampered by the physical impact of their crash.
After starting the season with a P15 finish in Qatar, Oliveira said, “Without the penalty given to me in Sunday’s race in Qatar, I think the result would have been different. I see myself being able to do better in Portugal. This is my favorite circuit. It’s more natural for me to race hurry to Portimao.”
Ahead of this weekend’s Portuguese GP, Oliveira hopes that Marquez will appear different at Portimao, no longer having difficulty fighting his own bike. Oliveira has seen Marc’s performance with Ducati and raced very well. Maybe Marc is holding back a little because according to Oliveira he wants to start with more solid results. The Portuguese rider had expected Marc to be fast, said Paulo Oliveira’s son.
Oliveira managed to win the Portuguese GP 4 years ago, a historic victory on home soil. But last year’s horror crash was a disappointing start to the season. “After last year, I want to get on the podium again and win the race. That would make me very happy,” concluded teammate Raul Fernandez.
