Miguel Oliveira did not secure a spot in Q2 of the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix. The Portuguese rider was only sixth in Q1 on Saturday in Motegi, so he will start from 16th in both races this weekend.
The first lap of the CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team rider was not representative, being over eight seconds off the pace. With his next attempt, he moved up to fourth, but still far from the front. Oliveira was in fourth position at the end of his first outing on track.
He returned for the final five minutes, sticking with the tire combination he had used since the second free practice session: hard at the front and soft at the rear. Oliveira dropped to sixth with the improvements from his rivals and was unable to improve his time. Therefore, he was resigned to starting from 16th, while his teammate, Raúl Fernández, progressed to Q2.
Exit 1: Hard tire in front and soft tire in the back
Lap 1: Pit exit
Lap 2: 1m52,786s
Lap 3: 1m44,427s
Lap 4: Pit entry
Exit 2: Hard tire in front and soft tire in the back
Lap 5: Pit exit
Lap 5: 1m44,689s
Lap 6: 1m44,476s
Lap 7: 1m45,447s (end of Q1)
