The Portuguese crowd is celebrating on home turf. All the credit goes to Miguel Oliveira, who took the BMW to the podium three times in a row. It’s a result worth celebrating for the local hero, who—despite a challenging winter due to limited testing—has shown he’s making rapid progress.
Certainly, the Portimao round serves as a starting point to build upon for the rest of the season. Miguel is well aware of this, as well as the level his rivals have reached, as demonstrated by Bulega and Ducati.
For his part, however, he is fully committed to taking the M 1000 RR back to success.
“I’m happy with the final result, ” he said. “I’ve made it to the podium three times, and I’d say that’s going very well. We showed our potential as early as Saturday morning in qualifying and again today. I knew it would be a bit difficult. With today’s wind, I started using the front much more, putting a bit of weight on it, but that prevented me from using it well in the slow corners and the tighter sections. It was tricky to manage everything without making mistakes. Plus, I had Alex Lowes right behind me putting pressure on me in every race, so at a certain point I had to stop thinking about it and just focus on my own race.”
What is the biggest hurdle to overcome with this BMW?
“This weekend, one of our weaknesses was definitely the rear, both in terms of stability and corner entry. I feel like the others are stronger there. We’re probably at the limit, so I try to compensate in other parts of the track, but it’s not enough. Yesterday’s race was about 4–5 seconds faster than last year, and I was half a second faster than the 2023 winner, but that’s not enough, since the others have taken another step forward and we need to keep improving. My lines were wider because it was the only way to defend: I couldn’t close the slow corners well by using the front a lot. If I had kept a tighter line, I would have had to slow down too much and risked crashing."
Following Bulega, is there anything about the Panigale that impressed you?
“I’d definitely say so! What’s striking is the stability and speed going into corners: the bike is on another level. I’d like to have an answer on how to improve, but I’m not an engineer. I’d love to have one, but I can only describe what I feel. They’re doing a great job, between the factory, the team, and the riders. I don’t think there’s a single secret: it’s the whole package that works.”
Ducati risks having its fuel flow restricted. What do you think?
“I hope so; they need to add weight, take off tyres (he jokes). Joking aside, they deserve this moment for the effort they’ve put in—they’re on another level. I’m certainly not here asking for adjustments because that’s not my style, and we have to get there through our own efforts.”
Here in Portimao we saw a fantastic crowd...
“I think they were a bit nervous for me, because I could hear everyone shouting my name and I was wondering what was going on! But it was an incredible day because the support I received was truly unique, especially in such a short time. I said goodbye to MotoGP here in November, and to see such a huge turnout. Personally, it was one of the best motorcycle crowds of the last 10–15 years.”
How did you handle the cheering from so many fans?
“I almost had to imagine they were calling out someone else’s name to stay focused. But I’m used to handling the pressure, since in my last MotoGP race, my wife and daughter were waving the Portuguese flag at me before the start. I know how to handle these emotions.”