The twelfth Moto2 race of the year took place this Sunday at Silverstone Circuit, and ended with both Red Bull KTM Ajo riders placing inside the Top 10. Miguel Oliveira was eighth, back amongst the points after his DNF in Austria, whilst Brad Binder’s ninth place was his second consecutive Top 10.
The key moment of the contest for Oliveira came on Lap 10, when he went wide at Turn 7. The Portuguese had been in the group fighting to get onto the podium, but the incident dropped him down to fourteenth place. Never giving up, the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider managed to re-establish his pace and complete the 18 laps in eighth place.
#44 Miguel Oliveira
“In the end it was a race a little without reward for us, because I had a very good pace and I knew I could have fought for the victory. I didn’t start very well, then I got into the Top 5 and, when I wanted to pass Pasini, I couldn’t engage the gear -it was stuck in neutral and I ran wide. I was able to get back up and pass some other riders, to take some points and cross the finish line in eighth place. We will take away the positives and move on. Now we have to focus and be motivated for the next race”.
Aki Ajo – Team Manager
"This has been another good race for our Moto2 structure, at a circuit where we had never been before. Throughout the weekend Miguel [Oliveira] showed a very good pace, and that he is in great form. In the race he was able to recover from going wide, which had made him lose some positions; without that, he would have been fighting at least to be in the Top 5."
After 12 rounds of the season, Miguel Oliveira remains fourth in the overall standings with 141 points. He will try to continue adding to his total in two weeks’ time, at the San Marino GP.
Results (Race)
1. Takaaki Nakagami (Kalex) 38:20.883
2. Mattia Pasini (Kalex) +0.724
3. Franco Morbidelli (Kalex) +2.678
4. Thomas Luthi (Kalex) +4.645
5. Francesco Bagnaia (Kalex) +9.515
8. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +10.463
Moto2 World Championship Standing 2017
1. Franco Morbidelli (Kalex) 223 points
2. Thomas Luthi (Kalex) 194 points
3. Alex Marquez (Kalex) 155 points
4. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 141 points
5. Francesco Bagnaia (Kalex) 111 points