Year: 2023

After a strong start to the second half of the season a few days ago at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Miguel Oliveira and the CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team travel directly to Italy for the Gran Premio de San Marino, which takes place between September 8th and 10th, at the Circuito World Misano Marco Simoncelli. Round 12 of the 2023 MotoGP World Championship season will be the last event in Europe before a long tour of Asia and Australia and the final race in Valencia, Spain.

Miguel Oliveira put his Aprilia RS-GP on the front row of the grid for the first time last weekend after setting an incredible third fastest lap in qualifying. In the Sprint Race, he managed to finish sixth, although he had a real fight to keep his pace strong. Likewise, in Sunday's race, the Charneca de Caparica rider managed to get around some problems and ended up crossing the checkered flag in a great fifth place, which gave him and his CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP team a huge boost of motivation for this weekend.

“For Misano we follow a good motivation for the race weekend. We know that the challenge is different from Barcelona, ​​as the Misano World Circuit is a completely different track, of course. I arrive with an open mind and very confident”, says Miguel Oliveira.

The weekend starts as usual with the first free practice session at 09:45 (mainland Portugal time) this Friday, followed by the timed practice session at 14:00 the same day, which determines entries in qualifications 'one' and 'two' ' in qualifying. After the San Marino GP, the Misano Marco Simoncelli World Circuit will also play host to a day of testing on Monday, before the entire MotoGP paddock departs for the Far East.

It was a weekend full of strong emotions in Barcelona, ​​Spain, marking the start of the second half of the MotoGP World Championship. After an excellent performance in Q1, which gave him access to Q2, Miguel Oliveira managed to qualify in top3 and recorded P6 and P5 in the sprint race and the long race of the Catalan Grand Prix, respectively.

Friday with good feelings

The CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team arrived at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with high expectations for this weekend, with the aim of starting a turnaround in the 2023 season, until now marked by misfortunes. Miguel Oliveira started with a very strong pace, but it was a close call that he missed out on direct entry into Q2.

Oliveira recorded the seventh fastest time of the morning. In the 'Practice' in the afternoon, the rider from Charneca de Caparica managed to be a second faster, having passed the checkered flag with the 14th best time, just 0.086 seconds away from direct entry into Q2.

"I had a great day, except for the last 10 minutes of 'time attack'. I'm unhappy that we couldn't improve enough, but I'm sure we'll work on the bike together with my team tomorrow morning, before qualifying to try to have the opportunity to reach Q2 and be as fast as we can”, said Miguel Oliveira confidently.

Oliveira gains access to Q2 and leaves the 1st row of the grid

With a Saturday with mixed conditions, hot and humid, Miguel Oliveira achieved his first start of the season on the front row of the grid today, finishing third in qualifying on the Catalan circuit. Having managed to show his pace, even after a very heavy crash in the first free practice, the 28-year-old Portuguese rider finished Q1 at the top of the timesheets, with an extremely fast lap of 1:38.789 minutes, once again guaranteeing first place in the standings qualification to advance to Q2. And it was in Q2 that the Portuguese rider improved his lap time even further, finishing with an impressive third place, which guaranteed him a start from the front row of the grid, for the 'Sprint race' and for the main race, in the Sunday.

In the 'Sprint', Oliveira lost some positions in the first corner, after the start, running in eighth after the first lap. From then on, Miguel Oliveira fought hard until reaching fifth place on the third lap. Even so, the marked degradation of his tires prevented Oliveira from fighting for the podium, and he even had to give up a position on the last lap. The rider still finished the Sprint in sixth, after 12 racing laps, this being his second best result in a 'Sprint race' to date, after a fifth in Jerez.

"I'm happy with today. I expected a little more in the Sprint race, but I gave it my all. I already had my front tire 'done' after seven or eight laps, so it was difficult for me to turn or brake and I managed the rest of the race. race trying to avoid a crash. It was really a shame because I had good speed and pace, but there was nothing else I could do. It's a good indicator to see two Aprilias on the podium, also with my performance today. Tomorrow [Sunday] we'll go try to understand what we can do to avoid destroying the front tire and try to be as fast as we can”, concluded the rider from Almada.

Sunday giving everything and closing in top5

The long race of the Catalan Grand Prix got off to an impressive start due to several riders crashing, which led to the red flag being raised. Fortunately, both CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team riders were not involved and the race restarted minutes later with 23 laps.

Miguel Oliveira managed to make a good start from P3 on the starting grid and was fourth after the first lap. He showed incredible pace in the opening laps and even progressed to third on the fourth lap. But when the tires wore out, he was unable to maintain the strong pace and lost two positions after lap 10. Even so, the Portuguese rider continued to give everything and ended up crossing the finish line in fifth place, bringing home 11 points.

“In the first seven or eight laps I was doing well, but then it was difficult to prevent Jorge (Martin) and Johann (Zarco) from overtaking in the last laps. My front tire was destroyed on the right side, something we were more or less expecting for this long race. Furthermore, it was also difficult to save the rear tire. But overall, I take several positive notes: it was a good weekend and we were fast. In the race, despite all the difficulties, we were still able to fight for the top five and running in third place for a few laps wasn't bad at all. I'm about to leave for Misano and I'm going with a good feeling and motivation to start working there”, says the Portuguese rider.

In just a few days, the CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team will once again be preparing its 'box' at the Misano World Circuit – Marco Simoncelli, marking the penultimate round on European soil this year, before the season finale in Valencia in November .

Finishing off the first half of the MotoGP World Championship 2023 just recently at the CryptoDATA Grand Prix of Austria, Miguel Oliveira and the CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team are determined to turn the page for the remaining 10 rounds this season, starting this weekend at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

After a stunning weekend in Silverstone fighting for the podium, Miguel Oliveira had to cope with a setback at the Red Bull Ring, as he was pushed out of the Sprint Race and had to retire from the main Race on Sunday early due to a technical issue. Now, he aims to prove his good form again at the fast and flowing track in Montmeló, at Barcelona.

“After the disappointing result in Austria, I’m excited to turn the tide in our favor and bring a good result for the whole team. We have been as effective whenever we had the opportunity to show it and knowing that last year Barcelona was particularly good for Aprilia, I can’t wait to get there and on the bike”, said the Portuguese rider.

In the 111.77km of the Catalan circuit, the first practices this Friday start at 09:45, mainland Portugal time, and the 'Practice' counting for the qualification takes place between 14:00 and 15:00. The long run is scheduled for Sunday at 1pm.

The 10th round of the MotoGP World Championship, in Spielberg, Austria, began surrounded by expectations, especially in relation to Miguel Oliveira, whose first victory in the MotoGP premier class took place on Austrian soil, but also due to the rider's potential, always praised and acclaimed, even more so after his return already 100% recovered from the injuries suffered (in previous races) and eager to win.

The weekend got off to a positive start with Miguel Oliveira managing to qualify directly for Q2, but it didn't go so well, since Saturday, during the 'sprint race', the pilot was forced to withdraw from the race, for having been again practically collided by other pilots. On Sunday, Oliveira was unable to complete the 'long' race, due to a mechanical problem on his RS-GP22.

“I was fast over the weekend, but we had a little problem during the [long] race, a strange problem to be honest. It was a very simple detail, but it made me abandon it. The weights that calibrate my front wheel jumped, and as a result I couldn't put too much pressure on the brakes, because of the vibration, and I had to retire because of that”, refers the native rider from Charneca de Caparica.

Direct entry to Q2

In particular, on Friday, Miguel Oliveira did his best to get as close to the top as possible. In the first session, he rode fast and got a P17, although still far from his personal goal. Already in the only Practice Session counting for the qualification, he managed to remain in the top 10 of the best times, having guaranteed direct entry to Q2, the next day.

“Today was a difficult day, but finally positive. I didn't feel like I had the best pace overall, but I managed to do a good time attack and that helped me get into the top 10. I wish I had a little more time to work on the bike, but “it is what it is” and we have to be happy with the results. For tomorrow [Saturday], we are going to try some things to improve and try to be competitive during qualifying and the sprint”, concludes Miguel Oliveira.

Oliveira sandwiched in the Sprint Race

The sunny Saturday held promise in terms of expectations for the CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team and, although Miguel Oliveira and his teammate Raul Fernandez delivered a strong qualifying session and some improvements throughout the morning, luck was not on the team's side in the ' Sprint Race'.

Oliveira set an incredible lap, breaking the 1:29 minute mark to finish just 0.427 seconds behind pole position in eighth position. Starting from the third row of the grid, he was immediately “sandwiched” between his competitors and could not find a way out, when he was touched and removed in the first corner, so he was forced to finish his ‘Sprint Race’.

"From my perspective it's very difficult to understand, I was hit from all sides, I almost fell and I couldn't do more because I was 'sandwiched' in that situation. It's a shame. Today was certainly difficult with the hot temperatures in the afternoon. We really wanted to had an idea of ​​the feeling for tomorrow, but unfortunately we didn't. So there's no better way to prepare for tomorrow, we just need to be open-minded and give everything on track. I'm fine physically, there are no injuries and I'm ready to try again tomorrow", said optimistically the 28-year-old portuguese rider.

On Sunday, the rider from Almada, who started from eighth position, 3rd row on the grid, returned to the CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team pits during the seventh lap, when he was 13th. At the origin of the impossibility of finishing the race was a mechanical problem on his Aprilia RS-GP, which was linked to the lack of calibration of his front wheel.

The next round of MotoGP takes place in the first weekend of September, still on European soil, more precisely in Barcelona, ​​Spain; this will be the 11th MotoGP race of 2023.

Round 10 of the MotoGP World Championship will be doubly special for the CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team, as this weekend's event, which takes place in Austria, is sponsored by CryptoDATA. The Austrian GP also marks the vibrant memory of the first victory in the MotoGP premier class, which Miguel Oliveira provided to all Portuguese people, so the Portuguese rider and the entire CrytoDATA RNF MotoGP Team arrive in the Styrian mountains with extra motivation.

Having recently achieved his best result of the season so far, Oliveira, who returned fully fit and recovered after the summer break, had a fantastic race at Silverstone, Great Britain, where he crossed the finish line in fourth, just about 0.070 seconds of from getting a place on the podium. Confidence and motivation could not be missing from Miguel Oliveira for this 10th round of MotoGP, at the Red Bull Ring:

“I’m really excited to head out to Austria. The Red Bull Ring is a track that looks challenging for our RS-GP, but I’m really looking forward to continue the good form that we showed in Silverstone with specific focus on Qualifying in order to try to get a better starting position and be able to charge for more. I’m definitely looking forward to it and I’m very motivated!”

The CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich starts this Friday with the first free practice session at 9:45 am in mainland Portugal, followed by the 60-minute practice session at 2 pm, which remains the only session to count towards the qualification.

The Portuguese rider from CrytoDATA RNF MotoGP Team had a fantastic Sunday at the British Grand Prix, having achieved his best result of the season, passing the checkered flag in P4, in a race in which he started from 16th position on the starting grid.

Over the 20 laps of this Sunday's race at Silverstone, Miguel Oliveira showed an impressive performance and was the protagonist of a breathtaking recovery, even under some changes in weather conditions.

Friday aiming for Qualifying

Miguel Oliveira entered the weekend quite confident and finally recovered to 100%. Friday morning started with free practice, and with the slight changes in the championship format, only the afternoon session started counting for the Silvertson GP Qualifying, the ninth round of the MotoGP World Championship – a format that will remain until the end of the season.

With the track layout also slightly modified, the Portuguese rider easily managed to adapt during practice and in the afternoon timed session he set the 14th fastest time, which pushed him into Q1 on Saturday.

“I wasn't completely satisfied with today, because I managed to do the ideal lap for Q2, but in the end I couldn't overcome myself. At the same time, I had a new chassis to test and there were positives and negatives in that situation. Going into the 'time attack' I couldn't be fully consistent, which was a shame. But overall we have the potential to go faster, so hopefully tomorrow [Saturday] we can give it our all. It looks like weather conditions are going to be more challenging than today, so the focus will be on getting into the rhythm as quickly as possible”, says Miguel Oliveira referring to the first day of the GP on British soil.

Cold Saturday with persistent rain

Already on Saturday, the rain and cold received the entire MotoGP caravan at the English circuit, and with only 13 degrees of temperature on the track in the morning and persistent rain, the training and qualifying sessions, as well as the 'sprint' race, did not were easy to manage, although the track started to dry out during the 'Sprint' in the afternoon. Still, Miguel Oliveira did his best and showed an impressive recovery during the 10-lap race, even after a minor crash in the weekend's FP2 session.

Having qualified in P16 for the weekend's races, Oliveira found himself limited at the start of the 'Sprint', which gave him a less easy first lap, dropping back to 20th, to recover from there lap by lap. After just two laps, he was back in 16th position and at the end of lap three, the 28-year-old rider was already 12th. With two laps to go, he was 10th and set lap times as fast as the race leader at the end.

“I felt really good today. I made a mistake this morning after crashing in the practice session: I thought it would be a better idea to keep the tyres, which would be ready to start, but they turned out to be too cold because we didn't have enough time to warm them up. I did the whole Q1 on cold tires and I couldn't get enough grip to go faster. It was a pity. The race was good, I was stopped at the start by Brad (Binder) because his tires spun a lot, and when we 'closed' the throttle, everyone passed us. “I fell” to P20, but I recovered well to P10. I made some good overtakes and was fast on the bike, which was good", said the Charneca de Caparica rider.

Breathtaking sunday

In Sunday's race, Miguel Oliveira, who started 16th on the grid, quickly gained ground and was already 14th in the first sector and recovered one more position at the end of the first lap. His pace was such that he managed to gain practically a position on every lap, until he was sixth on lap seven. From there it took a few laps to get into the top 5. With eight laps to go, light rain started to fall, which made conditions more complicated. Even so, the Portuguese continued at a great pace and gained four seconds to approach the front group, a group where he fought for P3 with two laps to go and ended up crossing the finish line in fourth position, being the best independent rider in the premier class.

"I'm happy! It's a shame we finished so close to the podium and even more so when I was fighting for third position a few times in the last part of the race, but I'm still happy to start the second part of the season in a good way, the which definitely motivates us to keep going. Our approach continues to be “race by race” and always try to do the best we can. I'm also very happy for Aleix (Espargaró) to have won the race; to have three Aprilias in the top five this track definitely gives us a good feeling", concluded Miguel Oliveira.

In less than two weeks, the MotoGP World Championship heads to Austria for Round 10 of 2023 and the Grand Prix home to CryptoDATA.

After a five-week break, Miguel Oliveira and the CryptoData RNF MotoGP Team arrive this weekend at Silverstone for the ninth round of 2023, which begins the second half of an intense season. After a long period of recovery after a challenging start to the season, the pilot from Charneca de Caparica is confident and fully able to start this next phase with enthusiasm.

Miguel Oliveira had to recover from a shoulder injury sustained at the Spanish GP, in what was only the fourth round of the season. The Portuguese rider struggled to recover and worked to improve his condition at subsequent races at Mugello, Sachsenring and Assen. However, it was positive that he was able to take a well deserved five-week break, which has given him enough time to recover fully ahead of this weekend's British Grand Prix.

“I think it’s a great time to come back after such a long break, that was really helpful for me to recover my shoulder 100%. I came to a fitness level close to where I was at the start of the season. I obviously feel very confident and happy to get on working and really be competitive again back on my Aprilia RS-GP. It wasn’t the start of the season that we had hoped for, but we take on the second half and aim to bring back good results for all of us”, said Miguel Oliveira.

For the remaining 12 rounds of 2023, the format has changed slightly. The British Grand Prix starts with 'Free Practice 1' at 10:45 local time on Friday, meaning the session does not count towards qualifying, while the 60-minute practice session on Friday afternoon at 15:00 local time will determine the entries for “Qualifying 1” and “2” which take place on Saturday.

Remember that Miguel Oliveira currently occupies 17th place in the World Drivers' Championship, with 27 points.

Miguel Oliveira, CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team rider, is confirmed for the traditional Goodwood festival, which will take place between July 13th and 16th, in England.

Now that the MotoGP World Championship is on a summer break and will only return on August 6th, in Silverstone, Miguel Oliveira is fulfilling several professional commitments, one of them being his presence at the iconic event known as “Festival of Speed”, representing the CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team.

The Goodwood Festival of Speed ​​takes place at Goodwood House, owned by the Duke of Richmond (County of Sussex), in England, and it will be the first time that the Portuguese rider visits it. He will be accompanied by his Aprilia RS-GP 22, as well as fellow MotoGP riders and their bikes.

Within the scope of the same event, names of several legends of speed have already passed by, such as Giacomo Agostini, Mick Doohan, Casey Stoner, Kevin Schwantz or Randy Mamola.

The eighth round of the MotoGP World Championship took place this weekend in the Netherlands, more specifically in Assen, the Netherlands. Over the three days of the GP, Miguel Oliveira showed his determination and desire to win at the Speed ​​Cathedral, having managed to enter Q2, to start from the 4th row of the starting grid both in the sprint race and in the long race on Sunday, having in both races run very close to P5.

Friday started out sunny at the legendary TT Circuit in Assen, the day in which the Charneca de Caparica rider came close to directly entry into Q2, as he occupied 13th place in the classification of combined practice times. That day, Oliveira worked hard from the first to the second session. In practice two, he was even 0.872 seconds faster compared to the morning practice, closing the 13th best time of the day and missing Q2 by just 0.220 seconds. The Portuguese wasn't completely happy, but he was aware of what he needs to work on: “It was a strange day, morning and afternoon, I struggled with the stability of the bike in the quick changes of direction, which made me lose a lot of time. I think I must be the only one to have this kind of problem among the four Aprilia riders. There's definitely room for improvement, sure, we'll see that tomorrow [Saturday]. There was potential for so much more, but we just couldn't get past this little problem."

On Saturday, for the third time in six race weekends, Miguel Oliveira made the jump to qualifying two (Q2), staying just 0.094 seconds from first place. In Q2, the driver from Almada was unable to improve his lap time in Q1 and finished eleventh. For the sprint race, Miguel Oliveira got an exceptional start and even fought for P6 on the first lap, but at the end of the first lap he was in P12. At the beginning of the second lap, he was even pushed by another rider and lost all momentum, having no choice but to line up at the 'tail' of the peloton in P23. Although he managed to recover some positions in the next eleven laps, he passed the checkered flag in P19. “The race started very well for me and I progressed and gained some positions. But between turns 10 and 11 I was overtaken by Johann (Zarco) and pushed wide and in the meantime five more riders passed me. After that, under braking in the first corner, I overtook Marc (Marquez) who was on the outside, Alex (Marquez) came and passed both of them, and that's when I got “sandwiched” by them and had to release the brake to avoid hitting Alex”, commented Miguel Oliveira.

Sunday was for the CryptoData RNF MotoGP Team a day with mixed feelings. Despite Miguel Oliveira making a 'Falcão' start, he was unable to finish the race. His teammate, Raul Fernandez, achieved his best result of the year so far in the main race.

The Portuguese rider from RNF managed a cannon start, having dropped from P11 on the grid and having managed to run in P6 after the first corners. Miguel Oliveira had to do what he could to manage his energy, as his left shoulder still gives him a lot of pain, especially when changing direction quickly at the TT Circuit Assen. He lost a position in the first few laps, but continued to make progress, until unfortunately, after 12 laps, Oliveira returned to the pits and retired after detecting problems with the brakes on his machine.

"I made a good start in today's race [Sunday], I recovered some positions and was close to P5. But I was already fighting a lot, the bike had some problems that forced it to be unpredictable on the brakes. After a few laps, it was very difficult for me to continue, even though I'm slower. It's very frustrating and a shame to have to retire from the race, because we wanted to go into the summer break with a decent result, at least in the points, although today it was even possible to score some good points with Raul [Fernandez]. Anyway, we need to look at these three races as a bonus since I'm not at 100% and I'm still recovering, and being here was already a victory, I could stay with the team longer to to get to know them and improve, as well as doing some races on Sunday, which was good. In addition, we gathered information for myself and the team and now it's time to recalibrate for the second half of the season", concludes the Portuguese driver.

Now, the entire CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team and the entire MotoGP caravan are off on a well-deserved five-week summer break, until the action returns with the remaining 12 rounds of the 2023 MotoGP World Championship, with an initial date set for Silverstone, Great Britain.

Miguel Oliveira and his teammate Raul Fernandez faced a difficult start to the 2023 MotoGP World Championship due to their respective injuries and surgeries. As the season approaches a well deserved summer break, the CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team heads to the Netherlands this weekend for the third consecutive round at the legendary TT Circuit in Assen, The Netherlands.

After a quick crash at Mugello, Oliveira saw his injured shoulder again at the Sachsenring circuit in Germany. But it was on German soil that the Portuguese rider showed a brave and dogged effort to manage his machine and even find his way back into the top 10. With more time on his Aprilia RS-GP, the Charneca de Caparica rider feels He is getting better and better and intends to have another satisfying weekend in the Netherlands before recovering to 100% in the summer.

“It was a good boost for me and the team to finish in the top 10 in Germany last week, and I also managed to be the best Aprilia on track. I want to take advantage of these few days to rest and recover. But then, let Assen come, I think we are ready for the challenge and to improve a little bit again. Assen is usually one of the most difficult tracks for the body, but we will be ready for that”, says Miguel Oliveira.

The famous Dutch GP kicks off with Training 1 at 9.45am UK time, followed by the one-hour Training 2 at 2pm UK time this Friday.