Although he had never ridden a Moto2 at Twin Ring Motegi before, that did not prove to be a problem for Miguel Oliveira on Friday. The Portuguese was nineth in FP1 and took a definitive step forward in the second session, with the third best time of the day, of what was a wet day at the Japanese GP.
The Red Bull KTM Ajo portuguese rider was not provided with the best conditions in which to learn the layout of Motegi with a Moto2 bike. He had to complete the first 45 minutes of practice on a completely wet surface. Despite this, Miguel Oliveira was able to rise to the challenge and go nineth fastest -2:06.982.
The conditions in the afternoon remained the same, but Miguel Oliveira showed that he could be much faster. The Portuguese set his best time of the day at the end of his first stint, taking and holding onto third with his 2:05.807 lap. Oliveira was one of three riders who were able to ride below the 2:06 mark.
#44 Miguel Oliveira
"This first day in Japan has gone well, although it rained both in the morning and in the afternoon and there was a lot of water on the track. We did a good job; I’m happy with the setup for the bike that we found, so I am comfortable under these conditions. We have to see what conditions we find tomorrow in qualifying, but if they are similar to today’s then I hope we continue in this same way."
Tomorrow the portuguese rider will fight for a positive position on the grid in qualifying at 3:05 local time, to avoid having to climb up the order on race day.
Results (Combined practice times FP1-FP2)
1. Thomas Luthi (Kalex) 2:05.282
2. Alex Marquez (Kalex) 2:05.460 +0.178
3. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:05.807 +0.525
4. Hafizh Syahrin (Kalex) 2:06.212 +0.930
5. Franco Morbidelli (Kalex) 2:06.220 +0.938
