The Portuguese rider Miguel Oliveira (KTM) admitted this Friday that he is not “well on the bike” after finishing 11th on the first day of free practice at the MotoGP Australian Grand Prix, the 18th race of the season.
Almada’s pilot acknowledged that it was “a difficult day.”
“I don’t feel good on the bike. I feel like I’m fighting with the bike at every turn and pushing it with every move. It’s not the best feeling I’d like to feel,” he was quoted as saying by his press office.
The Portuguese driver also stated that the Australian track, which this weekend will host the 18th and penultimate race of the championship, is “relentless”.
“In Portugal, the tracks are wide, so we can have a better orientation. The track here is very narrow and unforgiving. If you make a small mistake, you get carried away or you end up on wet grass with a lot of mud.” . A gust of wind pushes you, takes us out… I mean, it’s complicated. I think it is one of the most difficult circuits on the calendar”, he stressed.
The Portuguese driver also mentioned that one of his problems in Australia is the steepest corners, where he loses speed, and that this Grand Prix should be held at another time of the year.
“It’s a bad time to race here. Motorcycles should be ridden in summer, not in winter. It is not that we are unlucky with the weather, the truth is that it is always so variable at this time of year. But five degrees higher than the air, the temperature would be of great help to keep the tires warm and so on… At these temperatures, things don’t work”, explains Miguel Oliveira.
For Saturday, the KTM rider hopes to “improve this feeling of discomfort”.
Miguel Oliveira comes to this round after having won the previous test, in Thailand, played in the rain.
The Portuguese is in eighth place in the championship, with 131 points, 88 points behind the leader, Frenchman Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha).
Source: TSF
