Portuguese rider Miguel Oliveira (Aprilia) withdrew from MotoGP’s feature race at the Austrian Grand Prix this Sunday because of “a strange problem” in his bike’s front wheel.
The driver from Almada had to return to the pits on the sixth lap of the 10th race of the season due to vibrations in the front axle.
As explained by the RNF team in a statement, it was the small weights used to calibrate the wheel that jumped and made the bike “uncontrollable”.
“I was fast all weekend, but we had a little problem during the race, a strange problem to be honest,” Miguel Oliveira stressed.
The Portuguese driver explained that it was “a detail” but that he “gave up the race” because of it.
“The weights that calibrate the front wheel came off and because of that I couldn’t get enough pressure on the brakes because of the vibrations and I had to stop early,” he concluded.
The problem also affected Miguel Oliveira’s teammate, Spaniard Raúl Fernandez, who retired on the penultimate lap.
Italy’s Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) was the winner and now has a 62-point lead in the championship.
Source: DN
