Miguel Oliveira is not yet getting to grips perfectly with the new Aprilia – He also describes the difference to Aleix Espargaro in his special riding style
Miguel Oliveira has the same Aprilia RS-GP 2024 at his disposal as Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales in the Trackhouse team this year. Oliveira had major difficulties with turning during the winter tests. Progress was made in this respect on the last day of testing in Qatar.
On the first race weekend in Lusail, Oliveira and Vinales rode with a slightly different aerodynamic configuration than Espargaro. This was particularly noticeable at the rear. Espargaro had the new end piece with the diffuser fitted.
Oliveira and Vinales rode with last year’s rear end. In terms of performance, Espargaro was the Aprilia spearhead – second on the grid and third in the sprint. He was one of the favorites for the Grand Prix, but with a “bad tire” Espargaro only finished eighth.
“Aleix stands out compared to all of us,” says Oliveira and explains why: “I can only say that his riding style is completely different, but it works. He rides a lot in lean angles, but is very static on the bike.”
“He never tries to lift the bike aggressively with the throttle to get speed out of the corner. Even in the braking phase, his bike is always very stable and doesn’t slide. This style is natural for him, it works especially with this new bike.”
Espargaro has been riding for Aprilia since 2017 and has had a significant influence on its development. The RS-GP is his bike. Vinales also needed time to adapt to the Aprilia when he joined the team in autumn 2021
At the moment, the step from the 2022 model to 2024 is a big one for Oliveira. “As a team, we have to understand how to set up the bike for our style,” says the Portuguese rider. “You can’t just flip the switch.”
“I have tried to adapt as well as possible. But I can’t gain height.” At 180 centimeters, Espargaro is one of the tallest riders in the field. Vinales measures 171 centimeters and Oliveira 170.
So they are significantly shorter. “You can adjust to a few things, but then you get to a point where you have your approach to the corner,” says Oliveira. “You can only change certain things. “
Long lap penalty costs a lot of time in the race
In the season opener, Oliveira missed out on Q2 in qualifying in fourth place. In the sprint, he finished 13th outside the points. For the Grand Prix, he still had a long lap penalty to serve from an accident in the Qatar race last fall.
When he took it on the fifth lap, Oliveira dropped from 15th to 19th place. “It looked like a promising weekend,” he begins his conclusion. “We had good speed on Saturday, but we couldn’t convert it in the race. “
“The long lap penalty really cost us a lot. I had to take it at the start of the race when the group was still compact. I simply lost time and positions. So I had to gain a few places back while trying to conserve the tire.”
“A lot of things happened at the same time. At the end, when a lot of people were having problems, I tried to push, but I didn’t make it.” Oliveira eventually crossed the finish line in 15th place. “A point for the effort, but we’re not happy with it.”
“I think we need a bit more time to get the best out of the bike. I believe that the team is capable of doing that. We just need some time, we need to keep working to get the best out of ourselves. “
