Miguel Oliveira is excited. The Portuguese rider spoke about the new challenge he will have at the controls of Trackhouse, the synergies he will have with the entire Aprilia structure, direct access to information and innovations of the bike, and direct contact with the factory team riders Aleix Espargaró and Maverick Viñales.
‘The new colors bring very good sensations. A bike with a very competitive design, but also with a very appealing technical package with a factory bike to start the pre-season tests. So, I am eager for everything to start. It is a season in which I am expecting to complement with good results that both Aprilia and I hope for. Obviously, we have that long-term vision because it is an investment that we are making from this season. So, we have to work on the future starting from this season,’ Oliveira began, in an interview he gave to Sport TV.
The Falcon, who will have Raúl Fernández as his teammate, reveals that the owner of the new team, Justin Marks, was in Portugal and that the first impressions have been excellent.
‘We had already met in Lisbon, he came to know us during the bike presentation, he came to Lisbon to have lunch and get to know each other a little bit, he is an excellent person, a company with a very rich competition background. That leaves us very optimistic and confident about what we will need to work on in the future for this season. We all have the same bikes, which implies that, logically, the factory team will test the new material they have, as it is logical, by them. If there is any upgrade that is already tested by the test team, it is logical that it is given to the rider who is faster or in more important positions in the championship. I believe that now in this first phase, things will be a little distributed among everyone. We have very little time in the tests to test and completely finalize everything at the technical package level to start the season, but Aprilia will try its best to distribute the work well among all the riders,’ he observed when asked to comment on this connection between the satellite team and the factory team.
After a 2023 marked by several crashes, Miguel points out that the riders are more accustomed to the new dynamics in the premier class.
– I believe that by the end of the 2023 season, we were all a little more adapted to the format because there were much fewer crashes in the second half of the season than in the first, both in sprints and main races. The start of the championship, with all the anxiety, may have a situation or two, but I think we are all more adapted to the format and that will help reduce crashes.
The Portuguese athlete finished the last season with 76 points, ranking 16th overall: ‘Whatever may come in 2024, I think it will be more challenging than this, and I believe I will have another maturity to deal with it. I think all experiences, whether good or bad, will help me because right now, for this 2024 season, I am definitely looking to gain race-by-race experience and be able to compete with the front runners.’
And what are your wishes for this 2024 season? ‘Many victories,’ he concluded.
