Now an Aprilia rider with the American Trackhouse Racing team, Miguel Oliveira made his MotoGP debut in 2019 in the Elf colours with the KTM Tech 3 team, and it was with the outfit run by Hervé Poncharal that he scored his first premier class victory the following season.
What memories do you have of your first season in MotoGP?
It was in 2019... It was a real blow for me. I'd just come off a season in Moto2 during which I'd fought for the title right up to the end, taking wins and podiums, and then all of a sudden I was no longer anywhere. That year, the KTM was difficult to ride, and even more so for a rookie like me, with no experience. To make matters worse, I was injured during the season. Despite all that, I have some good memories of the 2019 season. There was a great atmosphere in the Tech 3 team, very much a family atmosphere. That's something I really appreciated.
Didn't the fact that you weren't getting the results you'd hoped for discourage you?
No, on the contrary, it made me stronger. I knew I didn't have the best bike, and I was convinced that with a better machine I could show my true potential.
And that's exactly what you did the following season, when you took your first premier class win with the same team...
Exactly!
The 2020 season got off to a very late start because of the Covid pandemic. How did you cope with this period of uncertainty?
I never stopped training. But like everyone else, I was a bit disorientated. We were stuck at home not really knowing how it was all going to end. I tried to make the most of this period by spending time with my wife. But I had to stay focused and not lose momentum until the championship could resume.
That's what happened in July, with the first two races at Jerez...
We stayed in Europe, mainly in Spain, and I did most of the travelling by car to avoid the airports. You had to be careful not to get the Covid and risk not being allowed to race... We also had races back-to-back on the same circuits, which was perhaps the most difficult thing to manage. In the end, I took my first two MotoGP wins that year, and they are obviously very good memories.
Your first victory was in Austria, where no one was expecting you...
It was also a surprise for me, especially after the red flag... I had to take the second start without having the right tyre set-up. I didn't have a hard tyre for the front, but I still managed to win the last corner after riding a good part of the race behind Jack Miller and Pol Espargaro. It was just incredible, and even if the grandstands were empty because of Covid, the emotion was great at the finish.
Especially as it was also the Tech 3 team's first MotoGP win...
Yes, it was great for the whole team. It was a great party.
What did you gain from this first victory? Confidence?
Yes, of course. From then on I was convinced that I could fight at the front every weekend, especially as the bike was working really well that year.
When you've won, you know you can do it again.
That's what you did at the last race, at home in Portugal...
Yes, and that victory is undoubtedly one of the best memories of my career. It had been almost ten years since there had been a Grand Prix in Portugal. For a Portuguese rider to win, having led almost from start to finish... It was really special. And it also opened the doors to the official KTM team for me. My only regret is that there weren't any fans around the track to share this historic moment with them.