Miguel Oliveira continues to seek improvements in qualifying in 2024, and although he has come close to Q2 a couple of times, qualifying has been one of the Portuguese rider’s Achilles’ heels. This is precisely the aspect that Wilco Zeelenberg wants to see improved in #88’s performance, as he assures that the speed on track is more than evident.
The Team Manager of Trackhouse Racing began by looking ahead to the next round of the MotoGP world championship, returning to European tracks: ‘The fourth round is approaching and it’s always good to return to Europe after races abroad. Everything is a bit more controlled, we know the plans and where all the materials are with the trucks. […] Our two riders are in good shape and motivated to do a good job. […] Miguel learned a lot in Austin with his bike and improved the sensations and control.’
The manager then explained what still needs to be improved by the rider, without forgetting that Oliveira has speed: ‘We still need to qualify better to have a better performance in the races. Starting further up will help us to score more points. The speed is there, which is very important, and in order to turn it into a good position in the races, we need to qualify a bit better. Everything indicates that we will be able to do that in the upcoming races, which is positive, so I can’t wait; we will start in a fantastic atmosphere like Jerez.’
So far this season, the best Oliveira has done in terms of qualifying was to be 14th and start from the fifth row of the grid, which has happened twice, in Losail and Texas, and interestingly in Portimão he was less successful, being 15th.
