Miguel Oliveira is eagerly awaiting his return to racing. Two months into the championship, the Portuguese driver has only contested one full Grand Prix, that of the Americas. In Portugal he suffered a hip injury when he was hit by Marc Márquez in the opening laps of Sunday’s race, while in Spain he was hit by Fabio Quartararo at the start of the long race.
Oliveira suffered a dislocated left shoulder, a small fracture of the humerus and a ligament tear following the crash on 30 April. Absent from Le Mans, he is not yet certain that he will be able to resume racing at Mugello in a fortnight.
“I don’t know when I’ll be able to return,” explained Miguel Oliveira while attending the Bola Branca conference of Portuguese radio Renascença. “My shoulder injury has no set recovery time, so I don’t know when I’ll be back. The priority is for me to be 100% back. If it takes longer than the five or six weeks I’ve been given, then that’s it.”
Miguel Oliveira, RNF MotoGP Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
The title is still possible, according to Oliveira
Despite his sporadic presence since the beginning of the championship, the RNF team rider continues to believe in his chances of winning the title, comforted by the versatility of the weekends and the appointments still to be played until the end of the season, in six months.
“This year we have seen some unexpected riders score a lot of points in just one weekend. I think when these positions consolidate a little more and there is more predictability with regards to who is in front, things will calm down a bit. At least that’s how I see it, but that may not be the case,” he explained.
With 21 points to his credit and 73 behind the leader Pecco Bagnaia, Oliveira doesn’t give up. “I think of the 700 or so points you can get this season, there are only five or six races left. So yes, it’s possible to be champion this year. Of course, to say you can be champion when you’re sitting here injured and you don’t runs… there is still a lot to do to do it, but I hope to come back strong and able to show my skills”.
The MotoGP medical center hasn’t been empty since the start of the season, quite the contrary. Other riders have been struggling with injuries for several weeks. Seriously injured on the first day of the Portuguese GP, Pol Espargaró is starting to think about his return and hopes to be able to do so in one of the rounds in June. Enea Bastianini, who suffered a shoulder injury in the Portimao crash, has his sights set on Mugello and is expected to return to action.
Pecco Bagnaia and Luca Marini both suffered minor fractures after the French GP, but their participation in their home races is not in doubt. The same goes for Michele Pirro, who will have a wild-card for Mugello but dislocated his shoulder during a test at Mugello this week.
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