Miguel Oliveira finished Friday at Balaton Park in 9th place—or, if you prefer, 2nd among the rest. The Ducatis dominated free practice, lining up seven Panigales at the front, and it seems unlikely anyone will be able to break into that group. The Portuguese BMW rider, however, refuses to get discouraged or feel sorry for himself; he prefers to focus on the positives from today to build on them.
You said Balaton would be better than Assen—was that the case?
“I immediately felt better on this circuit. When I start Friday on a new track, I have to sort out a lot of things, especially with the setup. I found the right window for me, but there’s quite a bit to adjust with the electronics and suspension—it takes time.”
Where do you need to improve?
“In the slow chicanes, I can’t be smooth and carry speed; this has a big impact on the one-lap time and the pace. We’re still pretty confident about what we can do to improve; that’s the goal for tomorrow. There are two chicanes in the third sector and another in the fourth. In the first half of the track, however, I feel pretty good. I’ll try to qualify in the best possible position, even though it won’t be easy given that there were seven Ducatis at the front today. I’ll give it a shot.”
You mentioned the Ducatis—how would you explain the reasons behind this dominance to the fans?
“That’s not the right question to ask me; I wouldn’t know how to explain it to the fans. I just want to go as fast as possible on my bike, but when you see so many bikes of the same brand up front, the first thought is frustration. At the same time, we have to try to get the most out of our bike; that’s my goal as a rider, and that’s why BMW hired me. I’ve never complained—it’s a fact that there are so many Ducatis up front—but that’s racing, and we have to find a way to get in among them and beat them with what we have.”
And with some new developments, like the aerodynamic upgrades you brought to the track.
“We’re mainly collecting data; I think these updates can help us in the corners, but Balaton is a rather unique circuit. You don’t spend much time at maximum lean angle, and cornering speed is fairly low. There are no downsides, so I’ll keep using them, but they aren’t the solution to our problems here—we’ll have to test them on other tracks.”
What are you searching for?
“Stability is always welcome, but right now we need a bit of everything: stability, cornering ability.”
Are you getting used to SBK?
“As I said before, when I arrive at a track where I’ve never ridden this bike, I have to adjust my feeling a bit. It’s almost easier when I go to a circuit I don’t know, like Cremona, Magny-Cours, and Donington will be. On tracks where you’ve already raced in MotoGP, you try to recapture those feelings you remember, but it’s impossible—the reference points change. That’s why, at Phillip Island and Portimao, it helped me a lot to do some testing before the race weekend.”
What’s a realistic goal for tomorrow?
“I’d say finishing in the top 6, but it’ll be a challenge. From what I saw today, there’s a bit of a gap between the two factory Ducatis and the rest, and a couple of riders aren’t used to being up front. If I could stay ahead of Lowes, that would be good.”
Which Lowes?
“Alex... not the one riding the Ducati (laughs).”