Miguel Oliveira scored important points at the San Marino Grand Prix, finishing Sunday's race in 11th position. After a difficult qualifying and sprint race, the Portuguese rider, who started from 18th place on the grid, was able to take advantage of the circumstances to achieve a positive result in the main event at the Misano circuit.
After a challenging qualifying and sprint race – thanks to the heat and strong grip – the Almada rider set off for Sunday's main race aware that he would have to battle to recover positions and secure points in the session.
The threat of rain in the early afternoon in San Marino augured a demanding race, but Miguel Oliveira, firm in an effective strategy, didn't rush into it. While other riders changed bikes to adjust to the weather conditions, the Almada rider took advantage of the instability in the race and, showing his intelligence, climbed to 11th place.
“My plan was very simple: I would only change bikes if the track was really unusable, and for that to happen it needed to rain a lot more than it did. So I took the risk,” explained Miguel Oliveira at the end of the session.
Despite pointing out that the rain, the intensity of which increased as the race went on, “complicated things” – namely to “be able to risk some overtaking” – the Almada rider kept his cool and remained in 11th place for 19 laps.
“I was on an island with an 8 or 10 second lead. I was gaining on Zarco and I thought: 'I'm going to stay here and try to finish',” Miguel Oliveira said at the end of the 13th race on the MotoGP calendar.
At the San Marino Grand Prix, at the Misano circuit – where he will return in two weeks' time – the Almada rider secured five points and stood out as Aprilia's best rider of the day. He remains in 13th place in the overall standings, with 65 points.
Listen here to Miguel Oliveira's full statements after the third day of the San Marino GP:
