Positive start for Miguel Oliveira in Jerez

The Portuguese rider finishes seventh on difficult first day of Red Bull Spanish Grand Prix, affected by morning rainfall

The Red Bull KTM Ajo team started their first European round of the Moto2 World Championship this Friday at Jerez. Conditions at the Andalusian circuit were very different for each of the two Free Practice sessions on Day 1, with FP1 affected by rain and FP2 drier but still tricky for the intermediate class. Miguel Oliveira – 7th completed a positive day of practice, although a dry track is expected for the rest of the weekend.

On a completely wet track early in the morning, Oliveira did a great job with cut tyres. He was eighth with a 2:00.160 best time.

In the afternoon the track was much drier, albeit still far from in ideal condition. The two Red Bull KTM Ajo riders were strong from the beginning of FP2, with both in the Top 10 for a few moments. Oliveira set his best time of 1:43.544 on his last outing, finishing the day in seventh position.

Tomorrow Oliveira will look for a good position on the starting grid, in qualifying at 3:05pm local time.

44 Miguel Oliveira:

“The track was not so bad in the afternoon, but for me the fact that it was wet in some parts meant my riding wasn’t as precise. You always have some doubts. We had a very good pace with the soft tyre and we also made two runs with the hard tyre. The set-up with which we ended preseason testing has been a great help, and we have not changed much. For tomorrow we will keep the bike as it is. The reference is good, so tomorrow we will start another day.”