Year: 2016

Given the physical difficulties resulting from the injury he suffered in the GP of Aragon, Miguel Oliveira found himself unable to race last weekend at Motegi Twin Ring in Japan. Powerless to ride is bike in top condition Leopard Racing and the portuguese rider decided to postpone the return for the final round of the championship to be held at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia next November 13th.

"Unfortunately I will not be racing in the next two rounds in Austrália and Malaysia. This was a decision that Leopard and I made together in order to fully recover from the collarbone injury that I have suffered in the Aragon GP. I have made a great effort to race in Japan after my surgery but the pain that I felt in the first practice did not allow me to carry on racing as I intended to.  I am already back home in order to speed up my recovery and prepare myself to race in the last round of the season in Valencia hopefuly in front of many of my Portuguese fans".

Miguel Oliveira will thus have three more weeks of recovery now focusing all is efforts for the closure of a championship which is still the best rookie.

Lisbon, July 17, 2016 – There were 19 the total of crashes during the Moto2 race on German MotoGP. The track conditions were very difficult and although some riders could continue after fall, only 15 were those who managed to finish.

Miguel Oliveira was one of the first who crash in the first few laps but the bike conditions doesn’t allowd him to continue. This race is over and we must now think about the next race in Austria, as mentioned.

"The turn 8 had plenty of water and could not avoid falling … I was faster and confident, but entry in to the turn, the rear wheel spins and gave me one of those falls without warning. This weekend is finish and to forget for me and the team, so we're already preparing a test in Austria to move forward with the work and prepare Austria GP.”

Lisbon, July 16, 2016 – Less than a 1sec. is the difference that separates the first 20 riders in qualifying of the Moto2 category in the 9th World Championship round of MotoGP in Germany. Miguel Oliveira made improvements substances referring to the time that he achived on the first day of practice, but so tight qualifying regaled the rider to 6th row.

Weather conditions were also quite different from the first day and allowed the riders and teams complete more laps to better understand the new tyre compound.

The Portuguese rider completed a total of 24 laps of the circuit, achieving its best record in the 12th lap. In a last attempt to improve towards in the end of the session, change for new tires, but a defective rear tire did not allow him to improve. The rider from Almada is satisfed with the pace an confident for the race tomorrow.

"This qualifying was really tight, but I'm pleased with my pace. In this category start from the 6th line is unfavorable and so it will be a tough race tomorrow. I find it difficult to turn the bike in the slow corners, so I have with my technicians to find a solution to help me. I am confident that I will make a good race and finish inside my goal. "

Lisbon, 15 July 2016 – Were concluded today at the circuit of Sachsenring the first day of motogp practice and where rain and low temperatures were present to hinder the work to the riders and teams.

A category where the results do not reflect the riders and team efforts, and where any position off the podium may seem slight, Miguel Oliveira finished 14th and 11th respectively, without do many laps of the circuit as he like. The circuit is the shortest of the season and that also has the curve, considered by pilots, most dangerous of all the calendar and where the tires are a key to answer a long series of left turns. In the Moto2 category Dunlop offers a new tire compound for this race, which requires new adjustments on the bike by the riders and teams.

For  the Portuguese rider from Almada today was:

"Today was a strange day for the track conditions. I did not do as many laps as I would like. I'm happy with the pace and with the changes that we made to the bike for this afternoon. The bike is quite stable in the long corners, but in the shorter part is heavy and difficult to turn in the corner. I am eight tenths of the first and therefore we must work to cut this difference. "

The rider is confident for tomorrow and hope to improve his lap times in the morning to prepare the qualifying.

The third free practice session is scheduled for tomorrow at 9:55 a.m. and qualification at 13.35, Portuguese time and broadcast live on Sporttv.

Lisbon, July 13, 2016 - Miguel Oliveira heads today to Germany where he will compete in the 9th round of the MotoGP World Championship on a track that has shown little positive for the rider from Almada. It is recalled that on his last visit to the Sachsenring circuit, the young Portuguese contracted an injury that temporarily away from the fight for the title of Moto3, but that ended with one of the most spectacular remounted the title in motorcycling history. In Assen, where traditionally the young Portuguese adjudicates good results, it finished off its objectives, but in Germany is determined to recover and fight for top positions.

"I was not satisfied with result of the last race. In fact this year the moto2 category it's more competitive and therefore becomes more difficult to follow the front group. This is an adaptation from me and the team to the category and it is necessary to continue the work, and soon we will find the right setting to help me ride more easily the bike, I think the podium will not be far. Germany has not been an easy circuit for me so I am keen to change this trend by next weekend. "

Outside of Miguel Oliveira racing continues to be guided by dedication to his best physical shape, and last weekend he was present at the Estoril track for another workout while supported his protege Tomás Alonso at the project Miguel Oliveira - Fan Club, who won the race in his category.

"The moto2 regulation doesn't alowed to practice whenever we want, so I chose to practice in Estoril with the national championship and take some doubts about my performance, I feel prepared. I also had the opportunity to be next to Tomás Alonso and I confess that I was surprised by his work. Step by step, I believe we will be able to make this young great promise of motorcycling. "

The rider from Caparica have been knighted with the Gold Medal for the Sport Merit by the Council of Almada, thanks all those who contributed to such prestigious insignia:

"It's the first gold medal that i get, so I'm very happy. It is an honor for me to contribute sportingly for the welfare of the general population and especially the Almadenses, land where I was born. I want to thank this badge that was me attributed especially to the President of Almada Chamber Dr. Joaquim Miguel Judas and all those who contributed in my journey to make possible this moment."

Miguel Oliveira saw the Dutch GP end in the 15th position in a taugh race for the portuguese who departs from the 4th line of the grid on the 11th place. The rider from Leopard Racing make a good start but in the first lap one contact with other rider took him to 21^st. After that, an additional effort was necessary and he needed to do another race from back to top. Miguel Oliveira sums one more point to the championship in a race that was one lap shortened because of the rain.

“It was a difficult race. I made a good start but at the first corner on the left (Turn 5) I had contact with another rider and almost fell. I rallied and I had to make up several positions. " Started the Portuguese rider who, nonetheless, after three laps of the incident was fighting for the points. “ It was difficult to pick up the pace and, when I climbed back into the points, it started to rain. Also I never felt 100% with the bike so I tried my best in that condition.” It should be recalled that the rider from Almada is still the best rookie of this category.

“Now I want to move forward and face the next race in Sachsenring.” Ended Miguel Oliveira. The German GP is scheduled to 17^th July.

The Portuguese rider secures his best grid spot of the year in Assen, the stage of his second victory last year in Moto3.  A constructive Saturday for Miguel Oliveira at the Dutch GP, the eighth round of the 2016 World Championship at the TT Circuit in Assen. He gave his maximum as always during the time attack and will start Sunday’s race from 11th place thanks to a 1’39.294. It must be recalled that in the first laps, the rider from Leopard Racing run between the top3.

The riders have also faced the difficulties of changing weather conditions, in Qualifying which leads to a shorter session: “We knew these would be tough days because of the weather. We went out immediately with the slick tyres because we had noticed that towards the end of Qualifying of some MotoGP riders had risked the intermediate rubber. We started the session without rushing, then picked up the pace and I was able to make a good lap which earned me the 11th time: the best positioning on the grid this year. "

 Tomorrow at 08:10 Lisbon Time the riders will be back on track for 20 minutes of Warm Up before the lights go out at 11:20 Lisbon Time for the eighth race of the 2016 Moto2 World Championship.

The Portuguese rider from Leopard Racing ended in 12^th in the overall on the first day of practices to round eight of the 2016 championship, in the Assen track. Miguel Oliveira ended the FP1 session with an honourable 10th place, a second from the leader and he improved from the first from the second in the matter of times. At the end of the sessions he explained the good feeling and the will to do a good qualifying which he believes to have the conditions to do it.

 “It was a positive Friday, I was pretty consistent, always very close to the Top 10. This morning I was at first. The signs suggest we are heading in the right direction. We are still not entirely happy with the bike, I think we can still improve on the geometry. We are working a lot on changing direction, which will be critical.” Says the portuguese rider. It must be recalled that from the first to the second session the portuguese improved his mark which shows an evolution and that he is closer from his goal.

For tomorrw, In spite of the uncertainty of the weather the rider expects a good result: “Tomorrow there is the unknown factor of the weather, we hope to know how to adapt to the conditions we will encounter.”

Tomorrow practice resumes at 09:55 for the third practice session before Qualifying commences at 14:05 for the intermediate class.

Miguel Oliveira will start from 15th on the grid thanks to his best lap time of 1'50.430 on qualifying session that decided the deployment of the grid on Catalunya GP the seventh round of the 2016 World Championship.

After taking time to learn the new Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Miguel Oliveira has rolled up his sleeves at the decisive moment of qualifications, giving his maximum in the time attack session. It should be recalled that in the morning practices the Portuguese was 16^th but spent most of the time between the top 5: “ "Today we had to learn the new layout. Sector 4 has been modified and as a result, the track became slower. Now it is more difficult to ride because there are more changes of direction. I am satisfied with today's work, the weekend is going better than expected.” Started the rider. “Qualifying also started well, so much so that I improved by 0.6s. Now we analyse the data with the team, I think we can improve the bike further. I'm confident for the race."

Tomorrow the the lights go out at 11:20 (Lisbon Time) for the seventh race of the 2016 Moto2 World Championship.

Also in the rider’s schedule there is the next Monday, 6^th June, for a press conference about the “12 hours of Portimão” at Pestana Palace, Lisboa.

Miguel Oliveira expresses his deepest grief for the loss of Luís Salom and underlines the need to ensure better safety conditions for World Championship riders from Moto GP.

“This is a hard moment for me, for the motorcycling and specially for the family of Luís Salom, with whom all our thoughts, energies and supports are with. As a rider, I expect that the Security Comission can be even more active about track’s security. We are in 2016 and things like this shouldn’t happen at all. This is a sport that, like others, has risks. Today, unfortunately, it was fatal.” Said the Portuguese rider.

Friday’s Moto2 action in Barcelona came to an early end as Luis Salom fell at Turn 12. The session was stopped to ensure he could receive medical attention, tragically the rider lost his life.