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There’s a lot of work to do in Aprilia, especially in the Trackhouse garage, and Miguel Oliveira knows this really well. At the end of the first day in Sepang, the Portuguese rider finished 15th ahead of Bagnaia’s Ducati. The rider didn't aim for a lap time, preferring to focus on the various components.
And one of these was the aero-rake: namely, sensors supported by a grid that measure airflow. The innovation didn’t go unnoticed, to the extent that Miguel said: “It’s was like having a tennis racket on the rear,” he said jokingly. “Having so much material to try out, we did some tests. You feel the difference, even if it’s not that much.”
Miguel then took stock of Tuesday.
“It was a positive day,” the Trackhouse rider said. “It was important to have some feedback on the bike, so we could understand how to move and which way to push. We have a lot of work ahead of us. It’ll take time, but the sensations are good. This is only the first day, and we know it’s never easy. We’ve definitely already seen several very fast riders.”
The Portuguese rider is 15th in the rankings.
“At one o’clock, I did my fast lap. It was the first time I had mounted the right combination of tires, as we took advantage of the day to carry out different assessments. In the end, these are tests, and we’re only at the beginning, because we have so many things to test, and the references are different each time.”
Finally, he explained the changes between the bike used last year and the new one.
“It’s difficult to say how big the gap is, even if there’s an important difference in terms of sensations between the 2022 bike and this one. There’s more downforce. The engine is different. There’s more power, but we have to figure everything out. We started working today, and focusing.”
