Despite being a significant difference in concept, in part, from the new bike for the 2024 attack, Miguel Oliveira made it clear that the DNA of the Aprilia RS-GP he rode last year and the one he will have available this year is similar, at least in terms of riding style. He also admitted that he is missing ‘something’ in terms of lap pace, even though the package is ‘very competitive’
‘I would like to say that I adjusted something, in terms of configuration, but I did exactly the same in my riding. For me, it is highly frustrating because I knew I was riding well but physically the bike was not ‘there’ and finally they managed to find something good for me,’ revealed the Portuguese regarding the improvement made in the tests.
Given Aleix Espargaró’s recent positive results in Losail, Oliveira was asked if he believes he can be fighting for front positions, with him responding positively, having that hope: ‘I hope so. Honestly looking at the lap times we feel like we are there. In terms of pace we still lack a bit to challenge, even comparing with Aleix, but I believe that will depend on the track, conditions, tires, the usual things, but I think we have a very competitive package’.
Regarding whether he had to make any changes in terms of his own riding style, coming from the 2022 bike, the #88 clarified: ‘The bike is different but I didn’t have to do any specific work to change my riding style compared to what I had with the 2022 bike. In fact, I had to change the way of riding between the bike I had in 2022 [KTM RC16] and the 2023 one [Aprilia RS-GP], but between these two bikes specifically the way of riding is quite similar’.
