Nearly 175,000 people passed through the doors of the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve during the Portuguese Grand Prix weekend. There were already a lot of people on Friday, fans both in the stands and in the paddock. There were almost 73,000 fans there on Sunday, who not only enjoyed the show but also gave great support to the local driver, Miguel Oliveira.
After last year's Grand Prix, with the accidents, injuries, the problem of the size of the gravel and the low turnout of the public, the Portuguese event was seriously questioned and risked being canceled from the calendar, but the fans Portuguese reacted in the best way, participating en masse in the event and supporting all the drivers, especially his.
Originally from Almada (Lisbon), 286 km north of Portimao, Oliveira, 29, is one of his country's best-known athletes and believes that the pressure of competing in front of his home crowd is perhaps greater than the stress of fighting for the championship .
“I have only seen this level of support in the years when there was a certain rider in the championship, who has now retired. You know who I'm talking about,” he said, clearly referring to Valentino Rossi, who has always been supported on every circuit as if he were the home pilot.
Aficionados of Miguel Oliveira, Trackhouse Racing Team
Photo de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Oliveira felt the support of the fans in the stands, but also the warmth of all of Portugal. “It's incredible to have not only the track, but the whole country with you. It's incredible. I can't describe the feeling,” he explained.
An attention that inevitably created a bit of tension around the rider. “You feel a bit of pressure, because everyone is shouting your name. But it's good because after this, not even fighting for a World Cup will put you under more pressure than this one, unless you compete for it here (laughs). In that case things would be different. But it was nice, very nice”, he added.
Small steps with the Aprilia 2024
With Trackhouse's arrival in MotoGP as Aprilia's new satellite facility, Oliveira is riding an RS-GP24 this season, the same bike as factory riders Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales. But while the two Spaniards shone with podiums in the Sprints of Qatar and Portimao, Miguel has not yet adapted to the Noale bike.
Oliveira explained that he has only managed to make “baby steps” in MotoGP this year, because the 2024 Aprilia RS-GP is “not working for him”.
After scoring just one point in the opening round in Qatar, the Portuguese could only manage a ninth place in Portimao, where Vinales was close to reaching second place until a gearbox problem left him stranded with one lap to go .
Miguel Oliveira, Trackhouse Racing
Photo de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
The contrast between the performances of the two Spaniards and the Portuguese is understandable, because Oliveira was unable to make much progress with a bike that simply didn't work as he would have liked.
“We've only taken baby steps. Baby steps, baby steps, baby steps (he says, imitating walking feet with his fingers). Really baby steps,” he said of the lack of progress in 2024. “I would have liked something bigger “.
“The sensations I have are good. I have completely adapted to the riding style and everything else, but the bike doesn't work, it doesn't work as it should, and it's quite frustrating”, he says without wanting to elaborate, on the very day when a failure the reliability of a vital part like the gearbox ruined Vinales' race, which is not the first time it has happened.
“It's what we have. We have to keep working and try to find a way,” he concluded with resignation.
Fans
Photo de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
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