Month: November 2017

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Portuguese rider rounded off his on-track activity for the year with a final test at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit, where Miguel Oliveira once again showed his good progression with the KTM bike he is developing for 2018. After two days of testing in Valencia, Miguel Oliveira confirmed his good feeling on next season’s bike before taking a well-deserved winter break.

During the first day of testing, Oliveira enjoyed the same level of comfort that had allowed him to place first (three times in a row) in the season finale. Despite not having a transponder available for official timing, he sets some of the best times of the day. On Tuesday, the Red Bull KTM Ajo portuguese rider was again among the fastest riders on track: Oliveira -1:34.988- was second quickest, putting in 53 laps. His results confirm the excellent immediate improvements made by KTM.

#44 Miguel Oliveira

“Everything went quite well here in Valencia. The two days of testing have been quite productive, and we were testing many of the things that we already tried out last week in Jerez -as well as making some changes to the setup and the suspensions. All the things we have worked on have been very positive, we ended the year going fast and with a good pace, and now we just have to finish our preparations for next season well.  I'm looking forward to the 2018 tests, but now we have to enjoy this break”.

The next time that the Red Bull KTM Ajo Portuguese rider will be on track with his KTM bike will be next February, following the obligatory winter break.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 portuguese rider transitioned from 2017 to 2018 this week, undertaking two days of testing on Thursday and Friday. The test came just days after the season finale in Valencia, and saw Miguel Oliveira enjoying positive track time at the Jerez Circuit. The results were very satisfactory for Miguel Oliveira -1:41.518-, who despite dedicating his time to trying out new things ended up first.

After a spectacular season finale that saw three wins for Miguel Oliveira, the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider started preparing for 2018 this week. On two days of testing under the Spanish sun, the 22 years old rider completed around 140 laps. The setup of the KTM Moto2 was a focal point of the test, andMiguel Oliveira tried out a new chassis, swingarm and suspensions as he began to draw his first conclusions. Miguel Oliveira also lowered his times on by more than half a second on Friday.

To take advantage of the last days before the mandatory winter break, the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 team now return to Valencia, where they will have their last two days of testing on Monday and Tuesday

#44 Miguel Oliveira

“We’ve had two days of quite positive testing here at Jerez. We have been able to work on the setup of the bike as well as new suspensions, a new chassis, and a new swingarm. We’ve been trying to draw conclusions to improve the bike during the winter break. We have been quick and I felt very comfortable, although we have room for improvement, so it is very positive. Now we have two more days of testing in Valencia to finish defining what we can continue improving”.

The first season for Red Bull KTM Ajo in Moto2 finished in the best way possible at the Valencia GP, as Miguel Oliveira took a third consecutive victory in the race.

Unlike his two previous victories, at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit Miguel Oliveira had to fight his way through the field. At the start of the race, the Portuguese rider joined teammate Brad Binder and another rider in pursuit of first-placed Franco Morbidelli, progressing to second place in 10 laps. Despite the gap of 1.8 seconds between he and the Italian, Miguel Oliveira upped his pace to catch and overtake him with 6 laps remaining, capping the season with a win.

Miguel Oliveira, who will continue representing Red Bull KTM Ajo in the Moto2 World Championship next season, finished 2017 with 3rd place overall -241 points. Post-season testing at the end of KTM’s first campaign in Moto2 kicks off on Thursday at Jerez.

 #44 Miguel Oliveira

“It was a dream final Grand Prix. I came to this race in Valencia with the sole intention of having fun and we achieved that; I am very happy with this result. We would never have imagined that we could put together a run of three consecutive victories. I cannot thank the team and KTM enough for all the effort they have made throughout the season. It has been a very good season for us and I'm sure that next year we can do even better and fight for the title -which should be the goal”.

Results (Race)

1. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 40:18.480

2. Franco Morbidelli (Kalex) +2.154

3. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +4.181

4. Francesco Bagnaia (Kalex) +11.181

5. Alex Marquez (Kalex) +12.146

Moto2 World Championship Standing 2017

1. Franco Morbidelli (Kalex) 308 points

2. Thomas Luthi (Kalex) 243 points

3. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 241 points

4. Alex Marquez (Kalex) 201 points

5. Francesco Bagnaia (Kalex) 174 points

Miguel Oliveira placed fourth in qualifying for the Valencia Grand Prix, continuing his excellent run of form in the final stages of the season. The Red Bull KTM Ajo portuguese rider will look to take a third consecutive win on Sunday.

Moto2 FP3 saw the 22 years old rider start by trying out a new top fairing, similar to that used by the KTM MotoGP bikes, for the first time, drawing positive conclusions. In the remainder of the session, Miguel Oliveira and his teammate Brad Binder continued with the same dynamic as on Saturday, lowering their times for the third successive session. Miguel Oliveira was second, with  time of 1min35.637s.

In qualifying, the Red Bull KTM Ajo portuguese rider was inside the Top 10 early on. Miguel Oliveira was one of the few top riders to lower his times in the final minutes, setting a 1min35.182s lap that put him fourth.

#44 Miguel Oliveira

“The difference between our time and the pole lap was very small today. The positive thing is that we have a very good pace and I was the only one to lower my times at the end of qualifying. On my first run I didn't make the most of all the grip that the tyres offered, and that made things a little tough for me. The bike is performing well ahead of the race and I think I'm ready to fight. It will be important to not lose too much time at the start, and take risks when necessary, in order to fight for a third consecutive win”.

After consecutive 1-2 finishes, Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder will attempt to repeat the feat at the season finale, which gets underway at 12:20pm. Both have previously won at Valencia in Moto3: In 2015 and 2016

Results (Qualifying Session)

1. Alex Marquez (Kalex) 1:35.050

2. Franco Morbidelli (Kalex) 1:35.115 +0.065

3. Mattia Pasini (Kalex) 1:35.155 +0.105

4. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:35.182 +0.132

5. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:35.323 +0.273

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 portuguese rider is the man of the moment in the intermediate class, and he kepts up his flyaway form this Friday as the Valencia GP got underway. Miguel Oliveira was first on the combined timesheets after FP1 and FP2.

For Oliveira, the return to Europe has not changed his excellent performance, and he completed the first quarter of an hour of FP1 in the top position. Making a single stop in the pits to fit new tyres, the portuguese rider and his teammate Brad Binder, remained amongst the Top 5 at all times and ended the session in first -1:35.847- and third place -1:36.175.

That dynamic repeated in FP2, as both were strong from the beginning of the session. Oliveira improved his lap times progressively to lead the way on his final stint, setting a 1:35.802 that made him the fastest rider of the day.

#44 Miguel Oliveira

“Today we started the last Grand Prix of the year and our intention is to do our work and also have fun. At the moment we are doing both things. We have made a couple of changes to the bike with respect to the last races, but we are still not 100% happy. The conditions in FP2 were somewhat more difficult because of the wind, although we were able to improve our previous best time, which is very positive. We are ready for tomorrow”.

Tomorrow Oliveira will be gunning for pole in qualifying for the season finale, which will be held at 3:05pm local time.

Results (Combined practice times FP1-FP2)

1. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:35.802

2. Francesco Bagnaia (Kalex) 1:35.859 +0.057

3. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:36.010 +0.208

4. Mattia Pasini (Kalex) 1:36.013 +0.211

5. Alex Marquez (Kalex) 1:36.038 +0.236

Miguel Oliveira will bring his first season with KTM in Moto2 to an end this weekend in Valencia, Spain. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider has enjoyed an excellent year, evolving race by race, and showed his potential with two consecutive wins in Australia and Malaysia last month. Now he faces the last round of the year having achieved his goal, and is looking only to give his all and enjoy the season finale.

Whatever happens in Valencia, Miguel Oliveira will end the year in third place in the Moto2 World Championship. The Portuguese rider and his KTM bike have made steady improvement throughout the season, and Oliveira arrives at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in his best form yet, after two consecutive victories. He will aim to repeat his success from 2015 at the track, where he won the Moto3 Valencia GP.

#44 Miguel Oliveira

“I’m very motivated for the last race of the year in Valencia. After having tested at this circuit a few times with the KTM Moto2 bike, I think we can be competitive this weekend. Even so, we must reinforce the idea that we have nothing to lose and that we have already secured third position in the World Championship standings. We will go out there to have fun, to do a good job and to try to give the fans a good result. We want to confirm the good form we had at the last Grands Prix”.

The Moto2 race will be held on Sunday at 12:20pm local time. At the gala on Sunday afternoon, Miguel Oliveira will be awarded his prize for finishing in third place in this 2017 Moto2 World Championship.

Circuit information – Ricardo Tormo

Length: 4.005m / 2.489 miles

Width: 12m

Left corners: 9

Right corners: 5

Longest straight: 876 m / 0.544 miles

Constructed: 1999