After his victory in Australia last week, Miguel Oliveira remained at the head of the pack on day one of the Malaysian GP. At the Sepang International Circuit, the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider was the fastest on Friday thanks to his FP1 time. In the afternoon, in wet conditions, Oliveira finished third.
Miguel Oliveira once again sprung a surprise by going fastest in FP1, with a 2:06.856 time. The feat deserved special merit considering that Friday was the first time that the Portuguese had ridden at Sepang with a Moto2 bike -last year he missed the Malaysian round due to injury- and that it was also the first time a KTM Moto2 bike had run at the track.
In the afternoon, Oliveira continued his great form with third position in FP2 -2:24.139-, but this time on a completely wet surface in the rain. The Portuguese was comfortable in these difficult conditions and led the way for much of the session, going just 0.063s slower than the best time.
Tomorrow sees the penultimate qualifying session of the season in Moto2, taking place at 3.05pm local time -9:05am CET.
#44 Miguel Oliveira
“Today went fairly well here in Sepang, both in the morning when it was very hot and the track was dry, and in the afternoon in the wet and rain. We put ourselves in a good position quickly and that gave us confidence. We don’t know what to expect from the weather this weekend, but I think we will be ready if it’s either dry or wet. The goal is to continue with the same work as today and get a place on the starting grid that allows us to go all out in Sunday's race.
I also want to take this moment to express my sincere condolences to Stefan Kiefer’s family and friends, my last year team manager, which sadly left us today, unexpectedly. He will be missed.”
The former pilot Stefan Kiefer, also team boss and co-founder of Kiefer Racing, was found dead this morning in Kuala Lumpur, when the team was preparing to head to Sepang for the Malasian GP. Highly admired in paddock for his friendly personality, he was also Leopard Racing’s team manager, where Miguel Oliveira had his debut in the intermediate category, last year. With this tragic news, The Kiefer Racing team has decided not to participate in the Grand Prix, this weekend, in Sepang.
Results (Combined practice times FP1-FP2)
1. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:06.856
2. Franco Morbidelli (Kalex) 2:06.929 +0.073
3. Thomas Luthi (Kalex) 2:06.950 +0.094
4. Takaaki Nakagami (Kalex) 2:07.086 +0.230
5. Mattia Pasini (Kalex) 2:07.284 +0.428
