The 15th place in the MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix fell short of Miguel Oliveira’s expectations and goals. However, looking at his season starts in the premier class, it was far from the worst outcome ever in an opening round.
In fact, since making the leap to MotoGP in 2019, the Trackhouse Racing Portuguese rider has only managed to finish in the top 15 of an opening race three times – with the last time being in 2021.
In 2019, in his debut year with Tech3 on a KTM, Oliveira was just outside the points with 17th place in Qatar. The following year, in the same team, he finished eighth in the Spanish GP – which was the first race of the calendar due to necessary adaptations in pandemic circumstances.
This was followed by the 2021 season, which the rider started with 13th place in Qatar – already with Red Bull KTM, just like a year later when he also retired in Losail. In 2023 with RNF/Aprilia, the season began with a retirement in Portugal.
This year, Oliveira started with points, and now he pursues another goal in Portimão – besides wanting to significantly improve on his performance in Doha, he will try to score points in the first two rounds of a season for the second time. The only time this happened was in 2021.
