Month: November 2022

The weekend of November 25th to 27th marked the return of the pilot from Charneca de Caparica to the Terródromo de Fronteira, to compete in a Can-Am Maverick X3, within the scope of the 10th edition of the 4 Hours SSV of Vila Fronteira, on behalf of SGS Car. In this race organized by the ACP – Automóvel Club de Portugal, and at the same time integrated into the BP Ultimate 24 Horas TT Vila de Fronteira, Miguel Oliveira passed the checkered flag in 26th position and had his father, Paulo, by his side, in what has proved to be a duo with several successes in four-wheel competition.

“I suffered some unforeseen events, but I'm happy to finish [the race], which is always the first objective. I liked the car, the different conditions of the race and the track”, said Miguel Oliveira.

Friday was marked by the holding of official training sessions along the 16km perimeter of the “circuit”, with a lot of mud, although with a hot sun in the mix, which enhanced the green landscape of the Alentejo town. Miguel and Paulo Oliveira made the reconnaissance due to the venue, where the MotoGP rider had already been in 2017, and the father and son duo ended up managing to close their place on the starting grid in 17th place.

Saturday, the day of the official 4 Hours SSV race, started very early, with the green flag being raised at 8:00 am, in front of a grid made up of around 50 participants and the warm public that headed to Fronteira. The Oliveira family was able to adapt well to the Can-Am Maverick X3 and take advantage of the features of the SSV, but some technical problems were registered throughout the race – something common in this type of competition – and they delayed the performance of the Oliveira team.

Even so, Falcão was the best of the SSVs of the SGS Car team, who challenged Miguel to hold on to the controls of a Can-Am Maverick X3 in 2022.

“It was a great experience, with a lot of people pushing us, even in the most isolated areas, so it's worth repeating”, concludes the Portuguese rider.

The autograph session scheduled for Saturday, at 4 pm, ended up being canceled, with Miguel Oliveira thanking in advance the affection of thousands of people present, due to a flu.

Photo credit: Paulo Maria | ACP – Automóvel Club de Portugal

After third place in the Algarve Casinos Rally, Miguel Oliveira will race four wheels again, specifically in the 4 Hours SSV Vila de Fronteira, in Alentejo, next Saturday, November 26th.

As part of the classic 24th edition of the BP Ultimate 24 Hours TT Vila de Fronteira, the BP Ultimate 4 Hours SSV Vila de Fronteira will have another edition (the first was in 2012), this time with the presence of Miguel Oliveira and his father, Paulo (in total, the race has 47 entries).

Together, both will be driving a Can-Am Maverick X3 from SGS Car at Terródromo de Fronteira. Remember that Miguel and Paulo Oliveira participated and won this year's TCR class at the 51st Vila Real International Circuit driving a Hyundai i30N TCRi.

Remember that Miguel Oliveira already ran in Vila de Fronteira in 2017. On that occasion, Falcão debuted in the SSV at the 3 Hours TT Vila de Fronteira, when he made his debut driving a Can-Am Maverick X3 and was partnered by former cross-country champion Filipe Campos and his friend Peter Ferreira.

«It's hard, it takes a lot of technique to hold the car (…) It was a very nice race and without a doubt that I was curious to repeat it», he said five years ago, a wish that will come true next Saturday.

The program is as follows:

Friday, November 25th

11:45/13:45 – Free and timed practice

Saturday, November 26th

08h00 – Departure

12:00 – Arrival

13:00 – Podium Ceremony

Miguel Oliveira's debut in the world of rallying took place this weekend, 12th and 13th of November, as part of the "Rallye Casinos do Algarve", one of the oldest and most prestigious events in Portuguese motorsport, counting for the Portuguese Cup of rallies. The Portuguese rider successfully managed to finish the weekend in third place in the overall standings, a promising result in his debut on asphalt rallies.

As an invitation by Hyundai Portugal, of which he is Ambassador, Miguel Oliveira managed to fulfill his dream of competing in one of the most challenging modalities in motor sport – rally, despite his experience of competition on four wheels, he has already given success cards, also on behalf of Hyundai's invitation.

“The weekend was very positive, it was another dream come true and I am very happy. The circuit and the sections are well thought out, I loved the sensations, I loved the Hyundai i20 N Rally2, to whom I thank once again for inviting me. I had a lot of fun and having an experience like this competing in a rally, alongside a reference like Ricardo Teodósio was spectacular and I also want to congratulate him for the superb victory and dominance throughout the weekend”, said the pilot enthusiastically.

During the weekend, Oliveira had at his side, as navigator, Carlos Magalhães, who usually pairs up with rider Bruno Magalhães. On Saturday, the opening day of the Algarve race, which included a night Super Special in Lagos, Falcão managed to qualify in second place and ended the day also in the same position, 21.8” from Ricardo Teodósio, also from Team Hyundai Portugal, who dominated the competition day and set the fastest time.

Sunday, the final day of the race, was marked by the double passage through the Chilrão and Monchique sections, as well as the Portimão Super Special, and the fantastic pace of the Hyundai rider allowed him to close the podium.

The weekend was also marked by the holding of a special autograph session starring Miguel Oliveira, a meeting that brought together hundreds of fans of the 27-year-old pilot, at Parque Municipal de Feiras e Exposições (FATACIL), in Lagoa.

Top 5

Ricardo Teodósio / J. Teixeira, 48:55.3

Carlos Martins / Daniel Amaral, + 1:31.2

Miguel Oliveira / C. Magalhães, + 1:54.4

Márcio Marreiros / R. Barreto, + 2:36.4

Carlos Fernandes / Valter Cardoso, + 2:44.3

Miguel Oliveira made his first contact at the controls of the RS-GP, prototype of the CryptoData RNF Aprilia team, on Tuesday, in Valencia. The feeling couldn't have been better…

With the fourth best time of the first tests of the 2023 season, Miguel Oliveira was one of the names in the spotlight on Tuesday, as he achieved the fourth best time of the day.

A day that the Portuguese characterized as… «strange».

“It was a strange day. I think the first day is always a little strange as we have to adapt to a lot of different things. The team is also completely new, I had to meet the people and see what Aprilia's work philosophy is. In other words, I basically had to find a philosophy on how to work in the garage.”

Falcão also mentioned that the objective of the tests was to drive and “get as many sensations as possible to go to the winter break with something on which we can sleep. The objective was not to perform well, it was to continue riding and better understand the limits of the bike.”

In the end, Miguel Oliveira considered that the objective was achieved: «I believe that we managed to do well (…), although each bike has its strengths and weaknesses. And Aprilia is no different.”

The 2023 MotoGP season officially kicked off today in Valencia, Spain, with the first official tests taking place at Circuit Ricardo Tormo, stage of the last race of the 2022 season (as is, by the way, usual). Miguel Oliveira tested his new bike, Aprilia RS-GP for the first time, in these pre-season tests, thus making his debut with new colors and in a new team in 2023 and 2024 – in the RNF MotoGP Team.

Having been carried out over two sessions – FP1 and FP2 – the Valencia tests took place today, in the morning and after lunch, under mild temperatures and on dry ground. Miguel Oliveira finished P9 in the morning test session, running in 1m30s936, just +0s611 ahead of session leader Maverick Viñales. And he impressively marked his debut on an Aprilia, finishing the day in P4, having recorded his best time in 1m30s367, just +0s335 from Luca Marini, who set the best pace on Spanish soil.

In addition to having received widespread praise for his impressive pace on the track and for the undeniable empathy with his new bike, the Portuguese was the most successful rider of the day taking into account the other riders rookies in new teams, which makes a promising new era wearing new colors.

This new season, in fact, will be the longest ever, with 21 races scheduled, the first of which to take place in Portugal, at the renowned Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, on the 25th and 26th of March. Before that, another round of tests will be carried out in Sepang, Malaysia, at the end of February.

Pride! This is the word that sums up Miguel Oliveira's seven seasons at KTM, a connection that ended this Sunday with a fifth place in Valencia.

“Proud of the route I took with KTM. I often fell short of what I know I'm capable of, like today, but, coming out of 14th, I couldn't wait much longer", said Miguel Oliveira to SportTV, the day he ended his connection with KTM. “Any sporting life is made of ups and downs, but, as I said yesterday, I didn't leave a single drop of sweat unspent.”

Falcão also admitted that there was an «emotional moment» when he arrived at the pits after the race, as it was «a farewell to several years of collaboration with KTM, of many achievements, many shared emotions, good and bad, but the sport is made of it”.

Regarding the final classification in the World Championship, Miguel Oliveira showed his satisfaction with the 10th place, considering that «in this elite group, with our motorcycle and with all the ups and downs I had this year, I think that the tenth place not bad at all. The balance is positive”.

About the race itself, Falcão revealed that he drove with the front tire pressure too high for most of the race, saying that it was thus “practically impossible” to overtake.

“I was about to fall several times, but what matters is that we reached the end and I still managed to attack Mir, that's what's important. And finishing the last race with a Top 5 is positive.”

Miguel Oliveira also pointed out that those responsible for KTM mentioned that he would soon return to the pits of the Austrian brand, which he had the feeling that they wanted him to return quickly to the heart of KTM. A request that, at the moment, is not justified.

"For now, at midnight, my focus changes and I'm very excited about what's to come."

And «what comes next» is with the RNF MotoGP Racing Team, already on Tuesday, with the pre-season tests in Valencia.

The end of an era! This Sunday, in Valencia, Miguel Oliveira put an end to his connection with KTM after seven seasons. At the Gran Premio de la Comunitat Valenciana, Falcão finished his last orange race in 5th position.

With five MotoGP victories with KTM (two this year, in Indonesia and Thailand), Miguel Oliveira left 14th place on the starting grid of the Gran Premio de la Comunitat Valenciana. At the time of farewell, and as he mentioned the day before, Falcão had only one wish: recover positions, reach the first places in the race.

In this way, Miguel Oliveira tried to attack from the beginning, however, carrying out a very strategic race, since the 27 laps of Valencia required good tire management.

With some crashes and overtaking, Miguel Oliveira gained position after position and ended up taking sixth position with only 11 laps to go, when he overtook the new world champion, Francesco Bagnaia.

After another fall, this time from Jack Miller, the Portuguese climbed up one more position and ended up finishing the grand prix with an honorable fifth place, when he left the starting grid in 14th position. In other words, we had a great farewell to Falcão in Valencia, a farewell that proves all his competitiveness and competence, in a race that was won by Alex Rins, curiously in the last Suzuki race in MotoGP.

And it is with 5th position that Miguel Oliveira puts an end to his connection with KTM. The future is now with the RNF MotoGP Racing Team, a future that already starts next Tuesday, with pre-season testing to be held precisely in Valencia, starting at 9:00 am. A new era begins…

As is his prerogative, Miguel Oliveira did not throw the towel on the floor. Falcão even defended that the rhythm of his bike is “quite good”, which raises hopes for the Gran Premio de la Comunitat Valenciana, in Valencia, on Sunday.

Miguel Oliveira told SportTV that he expects an «interesting race», confessing that he will probably have a difficult race on Sunday. Nonetheless…

“The pace is quite good and that leaves us with hope of recovering good positions.”

For that, «the start and the first two laps» will be crucial, two points that will be decisive on Sunday for a recovery race, defended Falcão.

«The pace in FP4 I did alone, with no one in front. When that happens, things always go well. With the air cones and the tires overheating, I always have a little more difficulty. But I will try to maximize my resources so that I can finish the race in a good position.”

About Q1, Miguel Oliveira was cool and rational, remembering that the Valencia Q1 was not unprecedented throughout the season…

“In qualifying we always lack something, whether in terms of grip or vibrations. It's a little frustrating, but it's been that way throughout the season. If something different came out here, it would be something very positive (…) I lack the right things at the right time, as has happened several times throughout this season. We always have a lot of potential, but there's always something missing in a lap. I don't have much more to say.”

Miguel Oliveira also said that the bike «has been quite well» and that it is being «fun to be on top of it», which is something positive for the race. But the Portuguese admits that «it is a little useless to leave with a great pace of 14th, but that's it…».

Falcão also stated that he had a clear conscience with his work at KTM, referring that «the team is aware that the pilot did not leave a single drop of sweat inside his body».

And it is precisely in this spirit that Miguel Oliveira will be on the starting grid on Sunday, delivering everything he has in his last race with KTM.

On Sunday, Miguel Oliveira will leave in 14th position on the starting grid of the Gran Premio de la Comunitat Valenciana, in Valencia, proof that will decide the champion of the year in MotoGP.

Saturday's day began with a spectacular crash by Marco Bezzecchi in FP3 in the second minute of the practice session, a crash that set his bike on fire and forced him to stop the session due to a red flag showing, a stop that, however, it was quite short (the session had seven more crashes, among them Falcão's teammate Brad Binder, Miguel Oliveira's future teammate in RNF Aprilia, Spaniard Raul Fernandez, and again… Marco Bezzecchi) .

With the bikes in action again, Miguel Oliveira sought to secure his place in Q2, in a session without history and marked only by the final five minutes, at a time when Falcão occupied seventh place in the standings (one more place than the one achieved in Friday). However, Miguel Oliveira couldn't improve his time (1m30s446 against Friday's 1m30s422) and had to compete in Q1 due to 52 thousandths, in a session where the fastest was Jack Miller, with 1m29s921.

In FP4, Miguel Oliveira, with hard tires at the front and medium at the back, did a race simulation and ended up setting the best time of the session, with a time of 1m30s762. Along with Fabio Quartararo, he was the only rider to lap in the 30th second.

With hard tires at the front and soft at the back, Miguel Oliveira was motivated in search of qualifying for Q2 due to his result in FP4, but he ended up not reaching his objective of qualifying for Q2 (advanced Maverick Viñales – 1m30s090 – and Alex Rins – 1m30s126). With the fourth best time in Q1 (1m30s216), Falcão will leave the 14th position of the starting grid of the Gran Premio de la Comunitat Valenciana, in Valencia, which means that we could have another cannon start from Miguel Oliveira, his last on KTM.

However, pole position was achieved by Jorge Martin, with 1m29s621. In the fight for the world title, Fabio Quartararo and Francesco Bagnaia will come out of fourth and eighth positions, respectively.

The schedule for Sunday, November 6, is as follows:

WUP – 08:40-09:00

Race – 1:00 pm

With three victories in Valencia, one in Moto3 (2015) and two in Moto2 (2017 e 2018), Miguel Oliveira had an excellent performance in the two training sessions of the Spanish Grand Prix, the last stage of this year's World Championship.

«I don't have anything new to try on the bike, I have my job simplified in this matter, simply going to the track and getting the best out of myself and the bike», said Miguel Oliveira on the eve of the Valencia Grand Prix, which started this Friday. -fair.

And that was the feeling that Falcão took to the first training session. With soft tires at the front and medium at the back, Miguel Oliveira was very competitive in FP1, reaching eighth position in the end (he was fifth when there were only about 10 minutes left to the end of the session), with a time of 1:31.775, in a session of training sessions where 17 riders ran around 1m31, with Fabio Quartararo being the fastest, with 1m31s399. The session was held with low temperatures, but with a wind that reached 16 km/h in the east direction.

In FP2, Miguel Oliveira reached fourth place in the first part of the session, with 1m31s349, in an initial session with four falls in less than 10 minutes, among them Marc Marquez, who had also fallen in FP1… Before the second stop, Miguel Oliveira got off some places and came to occupy the eighth position. However, on the way back and in the final time attack, Falcão reached his best time of the day, 1m30s422, with hard tires at the front and soft tires at the back, ending the session in sixth position, an excellent result that opens up good prospects for Saturday. The best of the day was Luca Marini, with 1m30s217.

The schedule for Saturday, November 5th is as follows:

FP3 – 08:55-09:40

FP4 – 12:30-13:00

Q1 – 13:10-13:25

Q2 – 1:35 pm to 1:50 pm