Miguel Oliveira’s return to the second phase of qualifying was close to being consummated this Friday. The Trackhouse Racing man finished 11th in the MotoGP Americas GP practice session, being relegated from the direct qualification zone for Q2 at the end by Franco Morbidelli (Pramac/Ducati). He was 0.108s away from that goal.
The rider didn’t hide some frustration with the result, considering that there were ways to do better: ‘The day wasn’t too bad. I was very close to Q2 in 11th, it’s always a frustrating place to end on a Friday, but I guess it’s better than finishing behind. We couldn’t put together the perfect lap; we had some margin to improve that lap I did, but at least that’s the positive aspect we take for tomorrow’.
According to Oliveira, there was an improvement in sensations with the RS-GP this Friday: ‘We adjusted small things on the bike and just tried to ride and get used to a step we took this morning which was very positive and I started to feel better with the bike. And actually I started to connect and get used to it’.
Asked if there is something to learn from Maverick Viñales, who was the fastest with Aprilia, the Portuguese confirmed: ‘Yes, there is, and we will adjust that for tomorrow. Fortunately, he was very fast, below the track record time. That is very good and actually we can compare and see what we can adjust for tomorrow’.
After coming very close to not having to go through Q1, Oliveira showed confidence in entering the top 12 of qualifying: ‘I am confident, yes. Whether I will do it or not, I don’t know, but I am confident. Let’s see what we can do’.
