After the good performances achieved at the Barcelona circuit in 2023, Miguel Oliveira is preparing for another weekend of competition in MotoGP with great confidence, at a track he knows well and where he performed well when he was younger.
Sixth in the Sprint and fifth in the long race, the Portuguese from Trackhouse Racing recalled the positive memories he has of the Spanish track, where he even won in MotoGP – in 2021:
– It’s always good to come to Barcelona. It’s a track that is part of my early competition days – I always raced in Barcelona. I have good memories here with last year’s Aprilia and I hope to create even more memorable ones this season. It’s a very technical track; you have to be very careful at the first chicane, you can lose a lot of time there. Then, there’s the fast section and the double right-hand turns in the last sector.
The track is also known for having low grip compared to other circuits on the calendar, which prompted a comment from the Portuguese rider, who will be extra careful with tire management, as he explained: ‘Since it’s a track with low grip, it’s always necessary to manage the tires to be competitive until the end of the Grand Prix. I am very confident for Barcelona’.
In his history at the Catalunya GP in MotoGP, Miguel Oliveira has a 12th place in his debut year in the category (2019), did not finish the race the following year (2020), won the year after that, finished ninth in 2022, and last year, as mentioned, finished sixth and fifth.
