Miguel Oliveira is one of the riders with an uncertain future in MotoGP. Currently with Trackhouse Racing and at the end of his contract, he aims to continue or possibly be promoted to the factory team of Aprilia – which has an open spot after Aleix Espargaró announced his retirement at the end of the year. However, to do so, he needs to show performance on the track.
Asked whether it is more comfortable to be in a satellite team with a good bike or in an official team with a difficult bike, #88 replied: ‘I think that enters a lot of speculation, and I don’t like to speculate. I believe that for all riders the main goal is to be on a competitive bike with a competitive team, and with a good salary, good conditions – everything comes into perspective when you choose a place for your future‘.
That being said, Oliveira admitted that it is not desirable to have a lucrative contract without the desired performance on the track: ‘I don’t think it’s a good investment when you reach a point where you’re probably fine on the bench, but not on the track. Because your life is basically this, we don’t do anything else. But all moves are based a bit on the hope that in the future, after you have invested your energy in a project, it will pay off. Everyone is making two-year deals right now. Two years may be enough, or maybe not; we don’t know. We are signing the last two seasons of this current MotoGP era, so I don’t think everything will change that much in two years‘.
Will the 2027 rules be a factor to consider in deciding what to do in the future? The Portuguese denied: ‘Not really, it’s still a bit far away, so I’m really focusing on these next two years‘.
