Month: September 2017

Miguel Oliveira once again brought joy to the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 team this Sunday at the Aragon GP. Although he was not able to fight for victory, Oliveira claimed his sixth podium of the season after finishing third.

Oliveira suffered during the initial laps, in which he kept in the fight for third place. After an intense tussle to escape from the pack, the Portuguese rider managed to open a gap and begin his pursuit of the race leaders. After cutting 3 seconds off the gap to both, only 6 tenths separated him from the winner at the chequered flag. The podium was Oliveira's sixth of 2017.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo ended this weekend with very positive results, not only because of the excellent performance of Miguel Oliveira, but also because his team mate Brad Binder has also entered the top 5.

Oliveira will come into the Asian flyaway rounds, which starts in three weeks' time, third -with 157 points- in the overall standings. Before that, the Portuguese rider  (and his colleague Binder) will participate in a day of testing at MotorLand Aragon on Monday.

Aki Ajo – Team Manager

"It's been an excellent day. The feeling is the same as after a big victory, because the two riders had a great performance, our KTM is performing very well and we had no problems during the weekend. Of course, we have to see how we can do better, but overall I am very happy and we will go into the coming races with a lot of strength."

#44Miguel Oliveira

"It has been a very good and a very solid weekend. This podium is very important for us after not being able to score points at Misano. I felt very strong all weekend, but at the beginning of the race we lost some time that we weren't able to recover later on. Anyway, overall it has been a very positive Grand Prix for us. Now we have three races in a row that I like a lot, where I usually get good results, so I will be very focused and we will give everything at Motegi".

Results (Race)

1. Franco Morbidelli (Kalex) 40:09.904

2. Mattia Pasini (Kalex) +0.145

3. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +0.577

4. Thomas Luthi (Kalex) +4.181

5. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +4.331

Moto2 World Championship Standing 2017

1. Franco Morbidelli (Kalex) 248 points

2. Thomas Luthi (Kalex) 227 points

3. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 157 points

4. Alex Marquez (Kalex) 155 points

5. Francesco Bagnaia (Kalex) 130 points

The Moto2 Aragon GP had its pole position decided beyond the 45 minute shootout on Saturday afternoon. Doubts amongst Race Direction as to whether to award Miguel Oliveira pole or scrub his lap meant that for several minutes the Portuguese was relegated to ninth position. Fortunately for him, his 1:53.736 lap was eventually deemed to be valid and the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider was able to take his second Moto2 pole of the season. 

In the last Free Practice session the Moto2 riders were finally able to ride on a completely dry track, with temperatures of 25ºC. This has made it easier for yesterday's times to be lowered within a matter of minutes. Miguel Oliveira was again one of the fastest riders and was troubling the Top 3, although he would eventually finish in fifth position -1:54.376. 

Oliveira saved his best laps for the main event of the day: Qualifying. In fifth, before his final run, the portuguese rider set his best laps of the weekend in the closing minutes. Oliveira surprised everyone on his sixteenth lap with an extraordinary final sector, leaping up to pole position with a 1:53.736 time. 

#44 Miguel Oliveira

"The truth is that we couldn't ask for more. This pole position will be very important for the start of tomorrow's race. We're confident because we have a very good pace, although other riders do as well. I think there could be a group at the front, so we will have to be prepared to fight -especially when the tyres begin to drop off. It will be interesting to see who is strong then.

After getting pole, seeing there had been a penalty and then having it given back, we could say that I already did my warmup for tomorrow walking up and down pitlane! Even if I hadn't been given it in the end, I would still have been happy with my pace".

Tomorrow Miguel Oliveira will try to fight for another great result in this first season for KTM in Moto2. The rider already has podium experience at MotorLand Aragon in Moto3. The race takes place from 11:20am, portuguese time.

Results (Qualifying Practice)

1. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:53.736

2. Mattia Pasini (Kalex) 1:53.757 +0.021

3. Alex Marquez (Kalex) 1:53.807 +0.071

4. Franco Morbidelli (Kalex) 1:53.841 +0.105

5. Simone Corsi (Speed Up) 1:53.876 +0.140

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 rider kept himself busy after the San Marino GP with a two-day test at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia. The portuguese rider Miguel Oliveira and his colleague Brad Binder enjoyed productive conditions on both days of action, and were able to put in more than 150 laps apiece. Only gusts of wind on Thursday caused problems for the young pairing.

Five rounds from the conclusion of the 2017 season, the Red Bull KTM Ajo structure continue working on the development of the KTM Moto2 bike that has debuted in the intermediate class this year. This week Oliveira and Binder were able to test new parts and confirm setups that had been positive at other circuits. Both used a new front fork, with which they had a good feeling, and links for the rear of the bike.

#44 Miguel Oliveira

"These have been two useful days for us in Valencia. It's been very hot and we've been able to put in a lot of laps, getting important kilometres under our belts. This test has helped us to confirm the good feelings we'd had with different parts in previous tests at other tracks. It's always good to be able to compare feelings at circuits with different characteristics. Every test is focused on being able to ride more comfortably and take steps forward. I was able to ride fast, so the end result is positive; Now we have to focus on the Aragon GP".

The team will remain in Spain for the fourteenth round of the campaign, which takes place at MotorLand Aragon next week. They will be back at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit for the final Grand Prix of the season.

The 13th round of the Moto2 World Championship was marked by heavy rain. Red Bull KTM Ajo rider Miguel Oliveira fell when remaining 17 laps for the checkered flag, after a fenomenal start, where he was able to gain 5 positions just in the first lap.

The Portuguese rider was in a fantastic race pace, in 4th place, when Mattia Pasini, 3rd, fell, offering him the place. After a while, it was the turn of Franco Morbidelli, race and Championship leader, to fell due to the extreme wheather conditions, making the Swiss Dominique Aegerter leader. After being passed by Thomas Luthi, Miguel Oliveira was able to defend his 3rd position, keeping a solid pace and started to recover time from the two front men.

The Portuguese rider was preparing to consolidate his 6th podium presence this season when he lost the front of the bike entering a corner. After the crash the rider still managed to come back to the track, but unfortunately his KTM was too damaged to continue.

#44 Miguel Oliveira

"My fall was a shame, we were building good results during the weekend. I saw in warm up how hard it would be to push under these conditions. I really wasn't pushing hard, nonetheless I lost the front."

Only 16 of the 32 Moto2 riders ended the race, this Sunday, in Misano.

Miguel Oliveira remains 4th in the overall standing, with 141 points, only 14 behind Alex Marquéz.

Qualifying for the San Marino GP saw Miguel Oliveira take ninth place, on the starting grid. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider put in his best lap of the weekend in the Saturday afternoon session, qualifying within 0,593 seconds of pole position.

For the intermediate category riders, the last Free Practice session was focused on working with used tyres. Miguel Oliveira was unable to go faster than he had on Friday, setting his best time in the final ten minutes but remaining in twentieth -1:39.049-.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider clocked his best lap of Misano to date in the afternoon run to decide the starting grid. On his first run with new tyres, Oliveira was eighth. After a second stint with the same tyres, the portuguese rider lowered his lap times on his third run -with a further set of fresh rubber. It was in the last ten minutes that Oliveira -1:37.983- confirmed his positions on the third row.

#44 Miguel Oliveira

"After yesterday my expectations for qualifying were a little higher, but I'm happy. Seeing how the practice went this morning, finishing half a second off pole isn't at all bad. In FP3 we made a change to the bike that didn't end up working out, and it all combined: The situation on track, the grip level… Nothing turned out well for us. In the afternoon we knew that the grip would drop a little, and we tried to make the most of it to improve in such conditions. There's still work to do, but tomorrow we will give our all to take a good result. I'm not worried about if there's rain tomorrow, because it's a bit of a lottery and will affect all of us equally".

Tomorrow's 26-lap Moto2 race will take place from 11:20am, Portuguese time. Oliveira has previously placed on the podium at Misano, in Moto3.

Results (Qualifying Practice)

1. Mattia Pasini (Kalex) 1:37.390

2. Franco Morbidelli (Kalex) 1:37.473 +0.083

3. Dominique Aegerter (Suter) 1:37.723 +0.333

4. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Kalex) 1:37.734 +0.344

5. Takaaki Nakagami (Kalex) 1:37.777 +0.387

9. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:37.983 +0.593

The thirteenth round of the Moto2 World Championship began well for the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 team. Miguel Oliveira continued in great form, placing fifth on the combined timesheets for the two Free Practice sessions held on Friday.

In FP1, Miguel Oliveira made two trips back to the garage. The second such occasion was to fit new tyres, and he subsequently set a time of 1:39.029 that placed him tenth.

In the afternoon session, the portuguese rider repeated his tactic and lowered his FP1 times already on his first stint. Oliveira showed once again that his best feeling comes with used tyres, and on his second stint he ran his best pace for a 1:38.342 lap that put him fifth.

#44 Miguel Oliveira

“I wasn't comfortable with the bike this morning during FP1, the track was a little slippery and I didn't feel good. The temperature rose for the second session and we were able to do a good job; we made some changes to the bike that have turned out to be quite positive. We have also tried out some new tyres on our last stint, and to be honest it is still something we need to improve. We're working on it. Tomorrow it will be important to get on one of the front two rows; we will try our best”.

Qualifying for the Moto2 San Marino GP takes place tomorrow from 2:05pm, portuguese local time.

Results (Combined practice times FP1-FP2)

1. Mattia Pasini (Kalex) 1:38.061

2. Franco Morbidelli (Kalex) 1:38.126 +0.065

3. Takaaki Nakagami (Kalex) 1:38.302 +0.241

4. Dominique Aegerter (Kalex) 1:38.326 +0.265

5. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:38.342 +0.281