Portuguese rider Miguel Oliveira won the MotoGP Thai Grand Prix, the 17th of 20 races of the season, this Sunday in wet conditions.
The rider from Almada, who took his fifth MotoGP win, the second of the year, finished 25 laps 0.730 seconds ahead of Australian Jack Miller (Ducati) and 1,968 over Italy’s Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), who finished third. became.
Frenchman Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha), who finished only 17th, retains the championship lead but is now just two points ahead of Bagnaia.
Miguel Oliveira (KTM) explained that when the racing on wet roads it is “super fast” after today’s victory in the MotoGP Thai Grand Prix.
In quick interview statements, the pilot acknowledged that it was “a long race”.
“It was a long race, but I can’t complain. When we run on wet roads, I’m super fast. When it started to rain, I thought of Indonesia,” he added, referring to the second race of the season. , also played on a wet surface and took his first win of the year.
This Sunday, Oliveira explained that he was trying to “keep his feet on the ground, get a good start, make no mistakes and take the bike to the end”.
“It’s not in the circumstances where we prefer to win, but I accept the win under all circumstances,” he concluded.
The topic came up again as the drivers were transported to the podium ceremony and there was Australian Jack Miller (Ducati), who finished second today, compelling: “Who cares? The bonus check is always the same”. The Australian spoke as a joke, later remembering that Oliveira had “driven a good race, without making any mistakes”.
Speaking to SportTV, the Portuguese pilot said he was “happy with today’s performance”. “When we have these conditions, I try to do my best and get the best out of the bike and my abilities. It was a good race,” he said.
Miguel Oliveira also justified why he has good results when the race is run on a wet track. “I think I understand the grip on the track pretty quickly. The sensations are more raw. You have to be very smooth when approaching braking and accelerating and when cornering. I’m pretty smooth and when it rains I can make which made my abilities clearer”, he stated.
As for the race itself, he added that he still suffered a “very big blow to the back” that prevented him from recovering many positions. “The brakes for the [curva] Especially 3 and 4 were difficult, with a lot of ‘spray’. On the straight we had ‘aquaplaning’ and had to give a lot of throttle on the straight,” he said.
When he leaned on Australian Jack Miller (Ducati), who was in the lead, he chose a more conservative tune. “I tried to feel the ground little by little so as not to wear out the tires. I managed to analyze Miller, who was the fastest, and understood how to save time. I waited for us to move away from ‘Pecco’ [Bagnaia] and when I saw I had an opportunity, I conquered it,” he explained.
With today’s win, Miguel Oliveira rose from eleventh to eighth place in the championship, still led by Frenchman Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha), but now just two points ahead of Italian Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), who became third.
Source: DN
