MotoGP | Euphoric Oliveira: “I promised my daughter a trophy”

The 2022 MotoGP season continues to offer surprises. After two races, none of the main contenders for the title got on the top step of the podium, but now we must be careful not to make the mistake of underestimating the KTM. In fact, the Portuguese anthem played in Mandalika, with Miguel Oliveira’s fourth career victory following Brad Binder’s excellent second place in the Qatar GP, bringing the Mattighofen manufacturer to the top of the constructors’ standings.

It is clear that the result of the Indonesian GP was conditioned by the storm that hit the island of Lombok a few minutes before the start, which imposed a great delay on a race that had already been shortened by 7 due to bad weather. asphalt conditions in some sections. However, after being a bit of a mystery pre-season object, the RC16 proved to be a very versatile bike.

On the microphones of Sky Sport MotoGP, Miguel also made a beautiful dedication to his daughter to his daughter Alice: “It was a nice gift, I promised her a trophy, even if it was tough, because a race in the wet is always much more difficult. Today, however, we did well, even if I felt competitive even in the dry. But it was a very strange day: first they shortened the race by 7 laps and then it was not clear if we would have to wait for tomorrow. But I’m very happy “.

In the end he had to contain Fabio Quartararo’s comeback attempt, but Oliveira explained that he was simply managing the advantage he had been able to build in the central part of the race, after passing Jack Miller and taking off.

“In the last part I managed a bit, in some places I felt less at the limit and so I decided to control a bit. With 6 or 7 laps to go I realized that Fabio was coming up stronger, but when I was pushing a the gap stabilized a little more. In the last three laps I just tried not to crash. “

Being a few laps behind the Australian from Ducati was also a help, because it allowed him to better understand the conditions and how to exploit them: “At the beginning it was an advantage to be behind Jack, because it allowed me to understand what the limit and also the trajectories to be taken. But it was all very difficult, because visibility was also reduced, so it was easy to make a mistake. I’m really happy to have brought home the bike and the victory “.

Finally, he underlined the great work that KTM has done over the winter, making the RC16 much more versatile, although visually it is still very much reminiscent of last year’s bike.

“It’s not very different, but we did a lot of work on the electronics and then even a small difference in aerodynamics can move a lot. We worked on this, but also on the suspension. They seem like simple things, but they allowed us to find a Better balance. Brad and I now understand the bike and are able to ride it according to his needs, so we are bringing out all the potential. With a more competitive bike on all tracks, we have a better chance of being on the podium “, concluded .