Miguel Oliveira, Cryptodata RNF MotoGP Team rider, started well prepared and highly motivated for the first Sunday race of the 2023 season, at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, anticipating a promising close in this first round. However, the final result proved to be more challenging, as the Charneca de Caparica rider was prevented from finishing the race.
The national hero showed excellent pace and confidence after an impressive Sprint Race on Saturday. Starting from the fourth position on the starting grid, all eyes were on the Portuguese rider when, after a fantastic start, he took the lead on the first lap, even being applauded in several stands. Although Francesco Bagnaia overtook him on the second lap, leaving him in second place, Oliveira took on incredible speed to chase him and would certainly fight for a place on the podium over the 25 laps scheduled for the course of the race.
However, he was hit by Marc Marquez on the third lap, which caused him to suffer a serious crash. Miguel Oliveira was immediately transferred to the medical center, where an X-ray thankfully revealed no fracture. The Portuguese rider will undergo some additional tests and treatments next week to ensure that he will be able to compete properly in the second round of the Championship, which will take place next week in Termas de Rio Hondo, Argentina.
“Today was a shame, obviously to end my home Grand Prix in just two laps was not something I expected. However, we can still be proud on the progress we made throughout this week. We had a difficult day on Friday and then to do Qualifying like how we did it yesterday and to almost have the podium in hand on the last lap in the Sprint Race was amazing. We had a good start today, to lead and then coming second, I think there was a clear opportunity for us to score a podium. I'm still very bruised on the right side of my hip from the crash, hopefully I can do everything I can do be fully fit for Argentina next weekend”, said Miguel Oliveira.
“That hasn’t been a good result of the first race, for obvious reason. I will push for tougher penalties for riders who recklessly endangered other riders in this incident. MotoGP riders need to be made an example for the younger Moto2 and Moto3 riders and reckless racing like this need to be severely punished so that riders are aware of what not to do. After all, it's a 25 laps race not a sprint race and this happened to Miguel on the third lap. Fortunately, Miguel is okay with no broken bones and we wish him a good recovery in the next couple of days before flying off to Argentina. For Raul, he showed a good progress during the Sprint Race yesterday, unfortunately for the main race today, he suffered some issues with his right arm. We will have to evaluate the situation and find a solution for the next race", commented Razlan Razali, Founder and Team Principal CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team.
“After ending round one, I'm happy to see the speed we have with the boys, especially Miguel, who has a fantastic pace. We finished seventh in the Sprint Race yesterday and were very proud to fight for the podium. Of course, I'm not satisfied with both riders’ results for the main Race on Sunday. To be taken out by Marc (Marquez) was a hug pity for Miguel, especially at his home round. Raul struggled after 16 laps in the main race, he had probably some nerve issues in his right hand, so he could not control his throttle and brake properly and had to reduce his speed. He then made a mistake in Turn four and crashed. The situation in general is quite tough. We already miss three or four riders of the championship after this first round, I’m a little bit afraid, that something is going the wrong way. We definitely need to look into that”, admited Wilco Zeelenberg, Team Manager CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team.