Miguel Oliveira started the MotoGP season with a 12th place in the first free practice of the Qatar GP. The Trackhouse Racing rider even made it into the top ten, but in a session where lap times are not a priority, he lost positions before recovering to 12th.
Asked by SportTV if the Portuguese rider is more comfortable with the Aprilia RS-GP, team manager Davide Brivio confirmed, also highlighting that the start was encouraging in the opening session at Losail:
– Yes, because we worked all winter and only on the last day of testing in Qatar did Miguel feel more comfortable on the bike, somehow ready to attack. Basically, during this first weekend we are trying to finish the work, or continue the work. But it’s good, because he is now comfortable, so we can start working. For example, in today’s practice we tested a different setup, he didn’t like it, so we went back. And he also did some laps with used tires. The best time came at the end with used tires. It’s just FP1, but I think it’s a good start.
