Miguel Oliveira is among the unluckiest MotoGP riders over the last 12 months, and he just can’t seem to catch a break.
The Portuguese star fractured his wrist at Mandalika in September 2024, ending his season early. He returned to action earlier this year, but crashed in the Gran Premio de Argentina Sprint, forcing him off the bike for two months.
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Miguel has crashed seven times in sprint and GP races over the past 12 months, his latest coming last weekend as he returned from injury. While the fans expected the best of the Portuguese rider, his doctor, Gonzalo Morais Sarmento, stated that we will only see Miguel at 100% in the Italian or Netherlands Grand Prix.
The Prima Pramac rider was adamant to prove his doctor wrong, and went out hard in the early stages of the French Grand Prix. He was comfortably inside the top 10 at the business end of the race, before a sharp turn sent the five-time winner careening into the asphalt eight laps from home.
Oliveira escaped that tumble without major injury and managed to see the bright side, calling the weekend a success because he made it back onto his bike.
MotoGP British GP
The next step is completing a race, and “Falcao” will set his sights on crossing the line at the Tissot Grand Prix of the United Kingdom at Silverstone Circuit this weekend.
Miguel returns to a familiar track where he earned his best result in the last 24 months, back in 2023. He held on for fourth place in the Sunday Grand Prix behind Aleix Espargaró, Francesco Bagnaia, and Brad Binder. However, his visit to the Isles in 2024 ended early after he slid into his teammate Raul Fernandez on the first lap.
While his big-picture goals of competing for a championship will need to wait until 2026, the Portuguese racer would love to bring some sparkle back to a career that looked so promising a few years back.
Moto 2 and Moto 3 Success
Top-3 runs in the Moto 2 Championship in 2017 and 2018, including three wins in each season, increased the hype around the Portuguese rider. He then won a pair of races and finished ninth overall in MotoGP in 2020. Miguel enjoyed further success in 2022, when he logged two more victories.
His MotoGP record reads five wins and seven podiums in seven years on the circuit. The man from Almada knows how to win, he just needs to rediscover his confidence.
Final Thoughts
Miguel Oliveira has only broken into the top 10 once since the 2024 United Kingdom GP, ending in 10th at the Emilia-Romagna GP last year.
Despite the recent issues, Oliveira is still in his racing prime and capable of getting back on track, literally and figuratively. Hopefully, the road ahead is brighter for the Prima Pramac team member than it has been over the last 12 months.
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Players have confessed their love for MotoGP DFS, noting how different it is from traditional sports betting. MotoGP DFS continues to gain a steady rise in attention, especially due to the real money prizes and its strategic nature. It has particularly amassed an amazing number of enthusiasts in Kentucky. MotoGP DFS allows you to pick …
Moto3 practice at the Circuit of the Americas produced a rapid succession of record laps, with Máximo Quiles opening the run on Friday by setting a new all-time Moto3 lap record of 2:13.757 on a Pirelli-shod CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team KTM, breaking Matteo Bertelle’s 2025 benchmark of 2:13.939. Álvaro Carpe then lowered that mark to 2:13.190 in Saturday morning practice aboard his Pirelli-shod Red Bull KTM Ajo machine; Quiles’s 2:13.757 session also featured Guido Pini second fastest on a Leopard Racing Honda with a 2:13.929.
Carpe had earlier topped Friday morning Free Practice One with a 2:14.209 for Red Bull KTM Ajo before finishing third in Friday’s faster session with a 2:14.202.
Friday’s timing sheets showed a cluster of leading Moto3 riders in the 2:14s — Matteo Bertelle (2:14.293), Valentín Perrone (2:14.309) and Joel Esteban among them — while Saturday morning produced a tight top three of Carpe (2:13.190), Perrone (2:13.280) and Esteban (2:13.349). The practice sessions ran around the 3.43-mile (5.51 km) Circuit of the Americas with a 25-rider field, Pirelli control tires prominent among the front-runners and KTM machinery occupying many of the top positions. Final grid places will be decided in subsequent practice and qualifying sessions.
At Sepang’s first preseason test, Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia reported an immediate improvement on the new GP26, citing notably better braking and corner-entry confidence after a difficult 2025 season. He ran a radical aerodynamic fairing that showed both advantages and drawbacks but produced lap times broadly similar to the older bodywork, giving the team useful comparative data for ongoing development. Bagnaia and Alex Márquez spent much of the day on long runs with used tires to assess race pace, and the squad planned a sprint simulation the next day, followed by a full race simulation on day three. The opening work built on an encouraging Valencia post-season test and left Bagnaia cautiously optimistic while warning against reading too much into a single day.
Marc Márquez set the early benchmark with a 1:57.018 while managing limits as he recovers from a right-shoulder issue, and Bagnaia ultimately placed eighth, roughly seven-tenths off that time. Ducati’s focus in Sepang was clearly on usable setup and tire feedback rather than outright sheet positions, with Bagnaia emphasizing that the team needs to better understand how new parts behave before converting test pace into race advantage. The broader test painted a mixed picture across the paddock. Yamaha’s V4 was reported to be short on power, turning, traction, and electronics, and Fabio Quartararo was later ruled out of part of the program with a finger injury. On the contrary, Alex Rins and Jack Miller struck a more positive tone about Yamaha development. Early signs from Aprilia, KTM, and Honda were encouraging through riders such as Lorenzo Savadori, Pedro Acosta, Luca Marini, and Joan Mir, even as rookies and regulars worked through setups and recoveries.
Off-track, the opening test intensified contract-year and transfer speculation. Bagnaia is in a 2027 contract year and acknowledged that impending regulation changes have helped create a lively market. Reports linked Ducati with interest in Pedro Acosta for a factory seat and indicated the factory is close to finalizing a new deal with Marc Márquez, developments that feed uncertainty around other riders’ futures. Several pieces of coverage noted that a strong return to consistent podium form by Bagnaia would complicate any premature assumptions about incoming stars, and Ducati will use the remainder of preseason testing to firm up the GP26’s setup and aerodynamic package. Overall, the Sepang opener left Ducati with encouraging technical signs and a clearer roadmap for evaluation, even as the paddock begins to reshuffle around the new rules.
Miguel Oliveira Fights To Get Back on Track
Table of Contents
Miguel Oliveira is among the unluckiest MotoGP riders over the last 12 months, and he just can’t seem to catch a break.
The Portuguese star fractured his wrist at Mandalika in September 2024, ending his season early. He returned to action earlier this year, but crashed in the Gran Premio de Argentina Sprint, forcing him off the bike for two months.
Seven Crashes in 12 Months
Miguel has crashed seven times in sprint and GP races over the past 12 months, his latest coming last weekend as he returned from injury. While the fans expected the best of the Portuguese rider, his doctor, Gonzalo Morais Sarmento, stated that we will only see Miguel at 100% in the Italian or Netherlands Grand Prix.
The Prima Pramac rider was adamant to prove his doctor wrong, and went out hard in the early stages of the French Grand Prix. He was comfortably inside the top 10 at the business end of the race, before a sharp turn sent the five-time winner careening into the asphalt eight laps from home.
Oliveira escaped that tumble without major injury and managed to see the bright side, calling the weekend a success because he made it back onto his bike.
MotoGP British GP
The next step is completing a race, and “Falcao” will set his sights on crossing the line at the Tissot Grand Prix of the United Kingdom at Silverstone Circuit this weekend.
Miguel returns to a familiar track where he earned his best result in the last 24 months, back in 2023. He held on for fourth place in the Sunday Grand Prix behind Aleix Espargaró, Francesco Bagnaia, and Brad Binder. However, his visit to the Isles in 2024 ended early after he slid into his teammate Raul Fernandez on the first lap.
While his big-picture goals of competing for a championship will need to wait until 2026, the Portuguese racer would love to bring some sparkle back to a career that looked so promising a few years back.
Moto 2 and Moto 3 Success
Top-3 runs in the Moto 2 Championship in 2017 and 2018, including three wins in each season, increased the hype around the Portuguese rider. He then won a pair of races and finished ninth overall in MotoGP in 2020. Miguel enjoyed further success in 2022, when he logged two more victories.
His MotoGP record reads five wins and seven podiums in seven years on the circuit. The man from Almada knows how to win, he just needs to rediscover his confidence.
Final Thoughts
Miguel Oliveira has only broken into the top 10 once since the 2024 United Kingdom GP, ending in 10th at the Emilia-Romagna GP last year.
Despite the recent issues, Oliveira is still in his racing prime and capable of getting back on track, literally and figuratively. Hopefully, the road ahead is brighter for the Prima Pramac team member than it has been over the last 12 months.
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California is among the few states in the United States yet to legalize gambling. However, if you are a motorsports enthusiast in California looking for a better way to engage with MotoGP, we recommend Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS). It is often classified as a game of skill rather than chance, hence allowed even in regions …
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Players have confessed their love for MotoGP DFS, noting how different it is from traditional sports betting. MotoGP DFS continues to gain a steady rise in attention, especially due to the real money prizes and its strategic nature. It has particularly amassed an amazing number of enthusiasts in Kentucky. MotoGP DFS allows you to pick …
Álvaro Carpe lowers Moto3 lap record at COTA to 2:13.190
Moto3 practice at the Circuit of the Americas produced a rapid succession of record laps, with Máximo Quiles opening the run on Friday by setting a new all-time Moto3 lap record of 2:13.757 on a Pirelli-shod CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team KTM, breaking Matteo Bertelle’s 2025 benchmark of 2:13.939. Álvaro Carpe then lowered that mark to 2:13.190 in Saturday morning practice aboard his Pirelli-shod Red Bull KTM Ajo machine; Quiles’s 2:13.757 session also featured Guido Pini second fastest on a Leopard Racing Honda with a 2:13.929.
Carpe had earlier topped Friday morning Free Practice One with a 2:14.209 for Red Bull KTM Ajo before finishing third in Friday’s faster session with a 2:14.202.
Friday’s timing sheets showed a cluster of leading Moto3 riders in the 2:14s — Matteo Bertelle (2:14.293), Valentín Perrone (2:14.309) and Joel Esteban among them — while Saturday morning produced a tight top three of Carpe (2:13.190), Perrone (2:13.280) and Esteban (2:13.349). The practice sessions ran around the 3.43-mile (5.51 km) Circuit of the Americas with a 25-rider field, Pirelli control tires prominent among the front-runners and KTM machinery occupying many of the top positions. Final grid places will be decided in subsequent practice and qualifying sessions.
Bagnaia Reports Brake Boost, Confidence on Ducati GP26
At Sepang’s first preseason test, Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia reported an immediate improvement on the new GP26, citing notably better braking and corner-entry confidence after a difficult 2025 season. He ran a radical aerodynamic fairing that showed both advantages and drawbacks but produced lap times broadly similar to the older bodywork, giving the team useful comparative data for ongoing development. Bagnaia and Alex Márquez spent much of the day on long runs with used tires to assess race pace, and the squad planned a sprint simulation the next day, followed by a full race simulation on day three. The opening work built on an encouraging Valencia post-season test and left Bagnaia cautiously optimistic while warning against reading too much into a single day.
Marc Márquez set the early benchmark with a 1:57.018 while managing limits as he recovers from a right-shoulder issue, and Bagnaia ultimately placed eighth, roughly seven-tenths off that time. Ducati’s focus in Sepang was clearly on usable setup and tire feedback rather than outright sheet positions, with Bagnaia emphasizing that the team needs to better understand how new parts behave before converting test pace into race advantage. The broader test painted a mixed picture across the paddock. Yamaha’s V4 was reported to be short on power, turning, traction, and electronics, and Fabio Quartararo was later ruled out of part of the program with a finger injury. On the contrary, Alex Rins and Jack Miller struck a more positive tone about Yamaha development. Early signs from Aprilia, KTM, and Honda were encouraging through riders such as Lorenzo Savadori, Pedro Acosta, Luca Marini, and Joan Mir, even as rookies and regulars worked through setups and recoveries.
Off-track, the opening test intensified contract-year and transfer speculation. Bagnaia is in a 2027 contract year and acknowledged that impending regulation changes have helped create a lively market. Reports linked Ducati with interest in Pedro Acosta for a factory seat and indicated the factory is close to finalizing a new deal with Marc Márquez, developments that feed uncertainty around other riders’ futures. Several pieces of coverage noted that a strong return to consistent podium form by Bagnaia would complicate any premature assumptions about incoming stars, and Ducati will use the remainder of preseason testing to firm up the GP26’s setup and aerodynamic package. Overall, the Sepang opener left Ducati with encouraging technical signs and a clearer roadmap for evaluation, even as the paddock begins to reshuffle around the new rules.