Miguel Oliveira began working with Prima Pramac and Yamaha this Tuesday. The rider finished 17th on the Barcelona test day, completing 60 laps.
The Portuguese rider shared his first impressions of the new bike: ‘It was very, very different from what I was used to, for sure. Especially in the braking phase is super different. But I have to say that was also a bike that is very rider-friendly straightaway. It’s easy, the bike gives you a good feedback to tell you where the wheels are, and that’s super important. It was just a good set-up day. We had many Yamaha engineers in the garage to help the team making a smooth transition into the new bike, and also the new software and everything else’.
Although he seeks improvements in the braking aspect, Oliveira emphasized his positive first impression of the YZR-M1: ‘I’m not a big fan of the black color, but for the rest everything is fantastic, I have to say’.
While he finds the bike rider-friendly, the #88 explained that the priority is competitiveness: ‘I tell you, the most comfortable bike isn’t always the fastest bike, so we’re not looking for comfort or having a bike that is friendly to the rider, but rather a bike that is fast. And I think we are going to get an opportunity to work on that, for sure’.
This was also Oliveira’s first day working with his crew chief Luca Ferraccioli, and he had positive things to say about the collaboration: ‘I also clicked very well with my new crew chief and data guy, so I think we’re going to make more steps forward during the winter tests’.