Month: May 2018

The Moto2 World Championship comes to Mugello this weekend, making its annual visit to one of the most legendary circuits on the calendar. It is also the scene of some of the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 Portuguese rider best memory, as he has won at the event in the past.

In 2015 –his first season with the team– Miguel Oliveira claimed his first Grand Prix victory at the Italian track. In Moto2, the best result for the team is the fifth place taken by Miguel Oliveira last year.

The Portuguese arrives in Italy second in the overall standings, having gained a position despite the difficult weekend he experienced two weeks ago in France. The aim for him this weekend at Mugello will be to try to cut the gap to the series leader by as many points as possible and challenge for the win. To do this, he will try to take advantage of the improvements made to his KTM on the day of testing held this past Monday in Barcelona.

Miguel Oliveira #44

“We come into this GP after a positive test at the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit on Monday, which I’m sure will help us because we found important improvements to the setup. This is a different track to Le Mans, so I am confident that we can get into the top positions again. I have good memories of Mugello; I got my first victory there in Moto3 and last year we took fifth position –a place that I hope to better this Sunday. We will work hard to be able to fight for the victory. I'm sure we can take the win, so we will work hard to get it”.

The sixth Moto2 race of 2018, held over 21 laps, will start on Sunday, June 3rd at 11:20am Portuguese local time

Circuit information – Mugello

Length: 5.245 m / 3.259 miles

Width: 15 metres

Left corners: 6

Right corners: 9

Longest straight: 1.141 m / 0.709 miles

Constructed: 1974

This Monday, Miguel Oliveira undertook a private test at the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit, where the seventh event of the year will be held in just three weeks’s time. Defying the forecasts, the single-day test took place in perfect weather conditions, and was used to prepare the Portuguese rider for the Moto2 World Championship’s next trip to the track, as well as this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Portuguese rider continued finetuning the setup of his Moto2 machines, in addition to learning the characteristics of two new additions to the Spanish circuit: The resurfaced asphalt and the new Turn 13 that replaces the old chicane. Miguel Oliveira, who put in 104 laps, also took advantage of the day of testing to try new chassis and suspension parts that KTM had brought to the track as well as Dunlop tyres for the new surface.

Miguel Oliveira #44

“We had a very productive day. We were working almost all day with the hard compound. In the middle of the day we tested many things, such as new parts and improvements for the chassis. Then we put on the softer compound and we did quite well; we were consistent and ran a good pace. We focused more on preparing the Catalan Grand Prix, but even so I think we have to improve at circuits where we use soft tyres and there is a lot of grip -like Le Mans. Luckily, this day can be used as a reference for when we visit tracks with these conditions. The new asphalt is not very bumpy and has very good grip, so I think they have done a very good job”.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Portuguese rider will have his first opportunity to put into practice today's testing results this Friday, when the Italian Grand Prix starts at Mugello.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Portuguese rider finished his most difficult weekend of the season so far at Le Mans. Miguel Oliveira took a sixth place at the French GP that allows him to climb to second position in the overall standings.  

Starting from the fourth row of the grid, the Red Bull KTM Ajo Portuguese rider made a spectacular start, completing the opening lap in fifth position. From there, several overtaking moves occurred between him and other riders. Oliveira was sixth on the seventh lap, after passing his teammate Brad Binder. Despite giving up the position momentarily, the Portuguese moved back into sixth with six laps remaining and fought for fifth place until the final lap.

Miguel Oliveira #44

“I am satisfied with our sixth position because we have improved compared to last year and we are also second in the overall standings, which is important. The problem for us was that at the beginning of the race the other riders had more grip and could go faster than us, whilst we lacked speed. At the end I was able to ride as fast as lead riders, but it was too late by then. Even so, we are lacking something and we are struggling a little, so we need something more. Luckily the team are working hard.

Now we have a test before Mugello that I'm sure will be good for us; both for me personally and for the bike too, as we look to take a step forward. Le Mans was the most difficult circuit we had marked on the calendar, so it's already done with and we’re going to go for a good result at Mugello”

Aki Ajo – Team Manager

"We have to be happy with today's results, because both of our riders were able to finish in the Top 10. The start of the weekend was very difficult, as was Saturday morning. I’m happy with the progress we have made throughout these past three days, since last year we had difficulties here with Miguel [Oliveira]; Brad [Binder] was out injured. We have improved and we haven’t surrendered at any time. Making improvement during the race weekend is the most important thing. We leave here with more points, we are second in both the rider standings, with Miguel, and in the team standings. Next week we will have a day of testing and we’ll have another after the race at Mugello, so the next three weeks are very important for us. I am very sure that we can fight for victories again

After five races, Miguel Oliveira moves up a place to second in the overall standings with 73 points. The Portuguese rider will be in action on June 3rd for the next Grand Prix at Mugello, Italy, following a day of testing.

Results (Race)

1. Francesco Bagnaia (Kalex) 40:40.162

2. Alex Marquez (Kalex) +2.709

3. Joan Mir (Kalex) +4.865

4. Marcel Schrotter (Kalex) +7.041

5. Xavi Vierge (Kalex) +9.811

6. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +9.943 

Moto2 World Championship Standing 2018

1. Francesco Bagnaia (Kalex) 98 points

2. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 73 points

3. Alex Marquez (Kalex) 67 points

4. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Kalex) 64 points

5. Mattia Pasini (Kalex) 58 points

Whilst the weekend of the French Grand Prix has not been the easiest of the season so far for Miguel Oliveira, the Red Bull KTM Ajo Portuguese rider nevertheless managed to obtain positive results in qualifying at Le Mans. Miguel Oliveira set his best laps in the grid-defining session, to start from the fourth row -in tenth- for tomorrow's race.

Miguel Oliveira used FP3 to test out solutions to problems encountered yesterday, and he made two pit stops. The final minutes saw Oliveira progress to fourteenth place -1:37.556-.

The Portuguese rider clocked his best laps in his third run in qualifying.  Before that, in the opening minutes he had improved his times from Free Practice, showing that he had correctly analysed the data from FP3. Late on, the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider tried to get the most out of his newest set of tyres, and ended with fastest laps of  1:36.976.

Miguel Oliveira #44

“This morning we had a bit of a tough session. It helped us to understand why we were not moving forward; I didn't have confidence with the front brake on corner entry. In the end we have been able to solve that issue and at least we have improved my feeling on the bike. We had a consistent qualifying session, in which we were always pushing. On the last stint I had a bit of bad luck with the other riders getting in the way. I could have been a little faster.

Starting from the fourth row at a Grand Prix that we knew was going to be very difficult leaves me satisfied. We will try to take the maximum number of points tomorrow. The race will be hard, as we don't know what will happen with our tyres because they go off very fast. Let's hope everything goes well”.

Tomorrow's 25-lap race will start at 11:20pm Portuguese local time. Miguel Oliveira will try to fight for a fourth consecutive podium of the season.

Results (Qualifying session)

1. Francesco Bagnaia (Kalex) 1:36.188

2. Xavi Vierge (Kalex) 1:36.390 +0.202

3. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Kalex) 1:36.583 +0.395

4. Joan Mir (Kalex) 1:36.659 +0.471

5. Marcel Schrotter (Kalex) 1:36.671 +0.483

10. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:36.976 +0.788

The Moto2 World Championship continues its European run and this weekend heads to Le Mans for the French Grand Prix, the fifth event of the year. Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 team have so far been the top team after the first four races of the season. Miguel Oliveira will have his sight set on a first victory of the campaign and continuing with the good results achieved at the start of 2018.

Miguel Oliveira has three podiums and a Top 5 finish from the four races contested so far. At the Red Bull Spanish GP, the Portuguese rider got his best result with a second place. Oliveira is fully involved in the fight for the title, as he lies just 10 points off the leader and 1 from the rider in second place. He has never been on the rostrum at Le Mans, something he wants to change this weekend.

Miguel Oliveira #44

“The aim is to keep up what we've  been doing in recent Grands Prix, in which we've taken three consecutive podiums. Of course, one thing that we can improve is qualifying higher up the order. Last year's French GP was very difficult for us; we never found the best setup to adapt the bike to the track. It's a circuit with hard braking, sharp acceleration and chicanes, so we will work on getting a setup that allows us to be fast and comfortable. The important thing is to not make mistakes, continue collecting points and increase our run of podiums. Finishing inside the Top 3 would be a great result”.

The 25-lap Moto2 race will begin on Sunday at 11:20am local time.

Circuit information – HJC Helmets Grand Prix de France

Length: 4.185 m / 2.600 miles

Width: 15 metres

Left corners: 5

Right corners: 9

Longest straight: 674 m / 0.418 miles

Constructed: 1965

Modified: 2008

This Sunday at the Jerez-Angel Nieto Circuit, Miguel Oliveira converted his worst position on the starting grid this year into his best finish of the season to date. The Portuguese went from fourteenth to second during the Red Bull Spanish GP, to claim the 25th podium of his career.

Starting from the fifth row, Miguel Oliveira had already moved his way up to eighth on the first sector and was into seventh at the end of the first lap. He continued to move steadily up the order and was second on Lap 5, sticking there for the remainder of the race -albeit trying to catch the leader.

Miguel Oliveira #44

“Qualifying yesterday was very hard for me, because I couldn't find the right line. I knew inside that I had some strong points for this race but yesterday I couldn't place higher than 14th position. I knew I had to give everything in the race and climb positions as quickly as possible. On the first few laps I realised that the group at the front was breaking away, but I thought I would be able to catch up with them. Fighting for the victory was difficult because Baldassarri was very strong and gave everyone else no chance. This second position, with all the fans that have come from Portugal cheering me on -it's like my home Grand Prix- feels even better than a regular victory”.

Aki Ajo – Team Manager

"We have to be very happy with today's race, especially with what Miguel [Oliveira] did, because it's been a very difficult weekend for him. We don't know exactly what the reason is, but above all on Friday and Saturday he seemed to be under pressure. I am very happy because he has made a change of mentality and did an excellent job in the race. Of course, this second position means almost more than a victory, because he took some very important points for the World Championship”.

After the first European event of the season, the Moto2 World Championship moves on to Le Mans for the French GP on May 20th. Miguel Oliveira will come into the event third in the overall standings with 63 points, 10 behind the leader.

Results (Race)

1. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Kalex) 39:33.889

2. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +2.851

3. Francesco Bagnaia (Kalex) +6.250

4. Xavi Vierge (Kalex) +6.953

5. Mattia Pasini (Kalex) +10.138

Moto2 World Championship Standing 2018

1. Francesco Bagnaia (Kalex) 73 points

2. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Kalex) 64 points

3. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 63 points

4. Mattia Pasini (Kalex) 58 points

5. Alex Marquez (Kalex) 47 points

0.648 seconds separated this Saturday, qualifying day, Miguel Oliveira from pole position in the Jerez – Angel Nieto Circuito, to dispute the fourth round of the Motorcycling World Championship, which is taking place this weekend in Spain.

Although with an FP3 still reflecting the technical issues felt by Portuguese rider the previous day, Miguel Oliveira managed to overcome the times recorded in Friday’s free practice sessions, setting his mark in 1min42,806s.

Hot, dry weather and asphalt rising to 44ºC marked the qualifying session. Miguel Oliveira consistently lapped in 1min42, having made two pit stops – one to change tires. About five minutes from the end of the qualifying session, between several hot laps released, the 23-year-old lost the front of his KTM and a low-side shot him to the asphalt without being injured. He closed the qualifying session with the 14th time, 1min42,573s, when about 20 pilots also signed their times in the same second.

Miguel Oliveira # 44

“I have a race pace for tomorrow, and I can be consistent and not make many mistakes, but I have always been lacking a bit of speed so far this weekend. The bike is working very well and the team have helped me improve a lot. Going only two tenths quicker would have taken me forward three rows.

Tomorrow we will try to gain as many positions as possible, and avoid incidents at the first corner. At the end of the race it will be very hot and the grip level will go down a lot, so I think it is a matter of being consistent and making the most of every lap, every tenth, to move up as many places as we can. I hope we can do that and get a good result".

Tomorrow, Miguel Oliveira will then takes off 5th on the grid line for the race with time scheduled for 11:20 a.m., local Portuguese time.

Results (Qualifying session)

1. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Kalex) 1:41.925

2. Alex Marquez (Kalex) 1:41.996 +0.071

3. Francesco Bagnaia (Kalex) 1:42.064 +0.139

4. Jorge Navarro (Kalex) 1:42.324 +0.399

5. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:42.362 +0.437

14. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:42.573 +0.648

Miguel Oliveira will be the first Grand Prix star to come through the entire Red Bull KTM MotoGP system after inking a contract to represent the brand in the premier class for the 2019 season. The Portuguese will ride for the Tech3 team after enjoying success in the Red Bull Rookies Cup, Moto3 and is currently fighting for spoils in the Moto2 division

Miguel Oliveira: “It is very early in the season but I am really happy that KTM have seen enough from this year and the last to trust me and believe I deserve this opportunity in MotoGP. I’m really thankful for that. I’ve always dreamed of MotoGP. I had it as a goal and to be able to achieve that is something so positive. We still have a long Moto2 season ahead and the fact that this is already done allows me to relax and really focus on my riding. I have been through all the steps that Red Bull and KTM have together since the Rookies Cup; I believe I’m the first. I think that shows other riders can trust in KTM and their project. I think I have the skills and the will to be able to perform well on a MotoGP bike.”

Pit Beirer (KTM Motorsports Director): “This is an emotional step for us because it proves all what we have said about building a structure in this paddock and being able to come from the Red Bull Rookies Cup, go through the classes with us and end up in a MotoGP team. Together with Aki Ajo we created the Moto2 project to be the platform that develops riders for MotoGP and I have to thank Aki for this partnership because he is doing a great job with the riders; if they come out of his ‘school’ then they are ready for MotoGP and I’m happy we can give a chance to Miguel. At the same time I’m also pleased that he can trust us as the right partner to try and be a successful MotoGP rider. We already have a great line-up of talent and there is still one spot open. It feels great to know we can have Herve (Poncharal), Aki and Mike Leitner around the table to make our strategy in this paddock. Miguel has his goals for race wins, podiums and the title in Moto2 this year and he has our full support for that and then his MotoGP career will start in Valencia.”

23 year old Miguel Oliveira joined the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 team in 2015 and clinched six wins and nine podium finishes. He immediately graduated to Moto2 and in 2017 again grasped nine trophies with three victories. He already has two rostrum appearances in 2018 on the KTM Moto2 machine in the intermediate category. Oliveira, the first Portuguese to participate in the maximum category of world motorcycling racing, confirmed his MotoGP contract after the first day of the Gran Premio Red Bull de España at Jerez.

The Moto2 World Championship moves on to Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, this weekend, for the fourth round of the 2018 campaign. The series begins a run of 11 European rounds that continues through to October, starting with the Red Bull Grand Prix of Spain. Miguel Oliveira comes into the race satisfied with his latest results but hungry for more. The Portuguese rider has already been on the podium at Jerez, and will be out to repeat the feat this Sunday afternoon.

Miguel Oliveira has yet to win at the Spanish track, but the Red Bull KTM Ajo Portuguese rider has placed on the rostrum twice –in 2015 in Moto3 and in 2017 in Moto2. Should he take victory this weekend, he would break into double figures with his tenth Grand Prix triumph. Achieving a third consecutive podium finish would also mean his 25th time inside the Top 3.

Miguel Oliveira #44

“We arrive in Jerez after two consecutive podiums, and the overall standings are tightening up. In preseason, we took a while to repeat the lap times that we managed in testing at the end of last year. In the Red Bull Grand Prix of Spain the temperature is always very hot, so we will have to work to find the setup for the bike that best suits these characteristics. One of our first objectives will be, above all, to improve our grid position in the qualifying session. I hope we can have a good race, get on the podium again and, if possible, fight for the victory. We will try to go one step further with the consistency that we have, and enjoy a good first weekend in Europe”

This will be the first of four Spanish events in 2018. The 23-lap Moto2 race will begin at 11:20pm on Sunday, Portuguese local hour.

Circuit information – Jerez

Length: 4.423 m / 2.748 miles

Width: 11 metres

Left corners: 5

Right corners: 8

Longest straight: 607 m / 0.377 miles

Constructed: 1986

Modified: 2017