Oliveira energised after his first podium at Portimao: "There’s more work to do but I’m ready for it"
With the Portuguese Rider’s Race 1 P3, he became the first non-Razgatlioglu rider on the podium since Michael van der Mark back at Jerez ‘24
Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) has enjoyed quite the homecoming so far. Not only has the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve swelled with fans for his racing return at the Pirelli Portuguese Round after he departed the MotoGP paddock, but in Race 1, he’s climbed up onto the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship podium for the first time after just four races in his new competition.
STEP BY STEP: “I learned some things at the end of the race in terms of the tyre degradation”
While both he and his team were conservative in their comments to the media ahead of Oliveira and his teammate Danilo Petrucci's debut with BMW at Phillip Island, given their limited preseason time on the bike, their results provided a decent platform to build on. Now, at Oliveira’s home track of Portimao, the #88 did well to capitalise on Yari Montella's (Barni Spark Racing Team) mistake and lay down consistently strong laps – including laying down only one lap in the 1’41s, three fewer than Bulega – which gave his rivals behind him no opportunity to overtake him.
Oliveira on his Race 1 takeaways: “It was a good Saturday, finally bounced back a bit in terms of speed from Friday, it was a bit of a strange day. We bought back some speed, but it was really tough. I didn’t have much more for the Ducatis out there, but I tried my best until the end, and I learned some things at the end of the race in terms of the tyre degradation, and I’m happy to be on the podium in front of your home fans. The only other thing you can ask for is a win, but I don’t think that’s too realistic looking out there. We’ll have two more opportunities on Sunday, looking forward to them.”
PORTIMAO GLORY ONCE AGAIN: “To do it here has a special taste”
While this was the #88’s first time on this track in WorldSBK, he has enjoyed key victories here in the past. Back in 2020, in MotoGP’s Portuguese GP, a 25-year-old Oliveira went from pole position to the top step of the podium. While Nicolo Bulega's (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) speed is dangerous once he has an open track ahead of him, as Oliveira continues to work with his BMW team, maybe Oliveira can look beyond the podium in rounds to come.
On what the podium finish means to him and what he thinks for the rest of the weekend, Oliveira said: “You always try to imagine achievements like these, but to do it here has a special taste. It’s important for the whole team, it’s the first BMW podium here with me in the garage. It gives them confidence to show that their job is paying off as well. I want to thank everyone in the garage and back in Munich for putting their faith in me. There’s more work to do, but I’m ready for it. Two more podiums would be perfect, but you don’t race alone, and everything will be super tight.”
Oliveira has two more races to go on Sunday! Tune in Live at 11:10 (Local Time UTC +1) for the Tissot Superpole Race with the WorldSBK VideoPass!
