Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) rode into a packed Autodromo Internacional do Algarve to the elation of his home fans, and much to their delight, he brought home a hat-trick of podiums, his first as a MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship rider. While he was outpaced by the factory Ducati pair of Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) and Iker Lecuona, and he sees himself up in the fight for the race win, he simultaneously understands that he must take this result positively.

THE FIRE TO FIGHT FOR MORE: "We don't want third place, we know where we want to go" -

After landing his first podium with his new BMW team, Sunday at Portimao was set up perfectly for the #88 to keep hammering away on his M 1000 RR and take steps toward learning the platform while shooting for the best results possible. He took his best shot at doing so in the Tissot Superpole Race, flying off the line at lights out to sit P2 for half of the race. Bulega had bolted, and it became a matter of defending his P2 from the #7.  Oliveira’s M 1000 RR package couldn’t manage much of a fight with the young Spaniard, as after Kecuona took P3 from Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) in Lap 2, by the end of Lap 4, Lecuona was ahead of the #88 by two tenths, and the gap only grew from there, leaving Oliveira with P3.

On his triple podium and the fight with the Ducatis ahead of him on track, Oliveira said: “It was a third-place frenzy this weekend, which is ok. I knew it was going to be really difficult to fight with the guys at the front, but we managed to be consistent. We earned three podiums, which are important to solidify and reward the team’s hard work. I know it’s only the second round, but we don’t want to finish third. I feel there’s some happiness in the team, but at the same time, we want to achieve more. It’s no kind of pressure, but we know where we want to be. There are still many races to come, I’m looking forward to getting the most out of the bike and myself.”

DIALLED IN: “I just tried to forget about him and ride my race”

In Race 2, Oliveira had a much bigger fight on his hands, he lost P2 to Lecuona by Lap 4, but by Lap 12, when Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) pulled to within four tenths of the Portuguese rider, he began to sweat. His front tyre was already heavily worn, and the margin behind him was dropping every Lap. By Lap 15, he was within a tenth; this would prove to be the closest he came. Oliveira focused on riding his race, and, to that end, locked down his third podium of the weekend.

On the overall takeaway from the weekend, his fight with Lowes and looking ahead to Assen, Oliveira said: “The weekend overall was positive, for sure we need to stay positive, the weekend was super positive since Saturday morning. It’s true that I struggled more; I used the front tyre a lot more. With Alex behind me, I just tried to forget about him and ride my race. At some point, you have to ride like there’s no one behind you. I tried to ride my own race and be as consistent as possible. It turned out to be just enough to come through for P3. On paper, there’s nothing that stands out as to why we can't be competitive. We will keep our feet on the ground and work hard from Friday onward to turn it into a positive weekend.”

Olivera returns at Assen next round! Catch every moment with the WorldSBK VideoPass!