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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Dorna Sports confirmed a revised MotoGP Race Direction leadership lineup for the 2026 season, appointing Graham Webber as MotoGP Race Director and naming Jack Gorst as deputy Race Director while long-time MotoGP Race Director Mike Webb moves into a newly created Race Direction Coordinator role. Webb will remain based on site at Grands Prix and in the control room, and will serve as IRTA representative and secretary. The three will jointly lead a centralized Race Direction team that will operate across the 22-round 2026 calendar.
The reshuffle preserves continuity while introducing new primary decision-makers: Webber, who had served as deputy race director and previously directed Moto2, Moto3 and MotoE race direction, will helm MotoGP race direction in 2026; Webb has led MotoGP race direction since 2012 and maintained the post through the FIM stewards restructuring after the 2015 Sepang fallout. Jack Gorst, who joins the Event Management Committee alongside Webber, will serve as deputy. The Race Direction remit covers all Grand Prix classes and other on-track competitions staged at MotoGP events, including the newly listed Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup.
Dorna and the FIM also confirmed the wider Race Direction and governance team: Bartolome Alfonso will continue as FIM representative and Safety Officer, Loris Capirossi as MotoGP SEG representative, and Danny Aldridge remains GP Technical Director. The FIM MotoGP stewards panel will be chaired by Simon Crafar, with Andrés Somolinos as FIM MotoGP Chief Steward and Tamara Matko serving as a steward. The FIM Appeals Panel is composed of Ralph Bohnhorst, Raffaele De Fabritiis, Stuart Higgs and Franco Uncini, with Paul Duparc and Paul King named as reserves. Event Management Committee members include Giancarlo di Filippo (FIM Medical Director) and Dominique Hebrard (FIM GP Technical Representative). The Grand Prix Commission is led by MotoGP SEG CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta and the FIM Permanent Bureau by FIM President Jorge Viegas. Dorna noted the 22-round calendar opens Feb. 27–Mar. 1 at Chang International Circuit in Buriram, with a final pre-season test the weekend before and round two scheduled Mar. 20–22 at the Goiânia International Racetrack Ayrton Senna following circuit upgrades.
The MotoGP 2023 season is set to culminate in a dramatic finale at the Valencian Grand Prix, following an exhilarating Qatar GP. In Qatar, an unexpected twist saw Fabio Di Giannantonio clinch an emotional maiden win, boldly overtaking Francesco Bagnaia in the closing laps. Bagnaia’s off-track excursion solidified Di Giannantonio’s lead, though Bagnaia managed to …
The roar of engines and the scent of burnt rubber at Buddh International Circuit are now behind us as the Grand Prix of India crowned Marco Bezzecchi the winner, in a race that heightened tensions in the title chase. Ducati reigned supreme with Bezzecchi and Jorge Martín claiming the top spots, while Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo …
Fabio Quartararo crashed at Turn 5 on the opening day of the Sepang MotoGP test, falling on his third lap and being taken to the circuit medical centre. Initial checks ruled out fractures but found abrasions to his left arm. But a later assessment revealed a broken finger on his right hand and a sore arm. He returned in the afternoon, added laps, and posted the ninth-fastest time on Yamaha’s much-changed V4 M1, but Yamaha and Quartararo ended his Sepang program after a total of 24 laps (eight in the morning, 16 in the afternoon) so the finger could heal.
The early exit cost Yamaha valuable test time at a session dedicated to assessing the new V4 package. Other V4-related problems emerged during the test, including Andrea Dovizioso stopping with a problem, and team principal Massimo Meregalli even suggested the team might consider benching a rider if necessary. Quartararo himself said the new V4 remained “very, very far” from where it needed to be for one-lap pace and race performance. Yamaha therefore lost on-track data and setup time that had been earmarked for refining handling, electronics, and race pace ahead of the season.
Yamaha and Quartararo prioritised recovery with the Thailand GP opener and a Buriram test (Feb 21–22) in mind. The rider confirmed he planned to skip the rest of Sepang to be fit for those next outings. The withdrawal underlined the preseason trade-off between protecting rider health and securing development mileage on radically updated machinery.
Separately, reports linking Quartararo to a Honda deal for 2027–28 were noted during the test, raising the prospect that 2026 might be his final season with Yamaha.
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.
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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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Graham Webber named MotoGP Race Director for 2026
Dorna Sports confirmed a revised MotoGP Race Direction leadership lineup for the 2026 season, appointing Graham Webber as MotoGP Race Director and naming Jack Gorst as deputy Race Director while long-time MotoGP Race Director Mike Webb moves into a newly created Race Direction Coordinator role. Webb will remain based on site at Grands Prix and in the control room, and will serve as IRTA representative and secretary. The three will jointly lead a centralized Race Direction team that will operate across the 22-round 2026 calendar.
The reshuffle preserves continuity while introducing new primary decision-makers: Webber, who had served as deputy race director and previously directed Moto2, Moto3 and MotoE race direction, will helm MotoGP race direction in 2026; Webb has led MotoGP race direction since 2012 and maintained the post through the FIM stewards restructuring after the 2015 Sepang fallout. Jack Gorst, who joins the Event Management Committee alongside Webber, will serve as deputy. The Race Direction remit covers all Grand Prix classes and other on-track competitions staged at MotoGP events, including the newly listed Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup.
Dorna and the FIM also confirmed the wider Race Direction and governance team: Bartolome Alfonso will continue as FIM representative and Safety Officer, Loris Capirossi as MotoGP SEG representative, and Danny Aldridge remains GP Technical Director. The FIM MotoGP stewards panel will be chaired by Simon Crafar, with Andrés Somolinos as FIM MotoGP Chief Steward and Tamara Matko serving as a steward. The FIM Appeals Panel is composed of Ralph Bohnhorst, Raffaele De Fabritiis, Stuart Higgs and Franco Uncini, with Paul Duparc and Paul King named as reserves. Event Management Committee members include Giancarlo di Filippo (FIM Medical Director) and Dominique Hebrard (FIM GP Technical Representative). The Grand Prix Commission is led by MotoGP SEG CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta and the FIM Permanent Bureau by FIM President Jorge Viegas. Dorna noted the 22-round calendar opens Feb. 27–Mar. 1 at Chang International Circuit in Buriram, with a final pre-season test the weekend before and round two scheduled Mar. 20–22 at the Goiânia International Racetrack Ayrton Senna following circuit upgrades.
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The MotoGP 2023 season is set to culminate in a dramatic finale at the Valencian Grand Prix, following an exhilarating Qatar GP. In Qatar, an unexpected twist saw Fabio Di Giannantonio clinch an emotional maiden win, boldly overtaking Francesco Bagnaia in the closing laps. Bagnaia’s off-track excursion solidified Di Giannantonio’s lead, though Bagnaia managed to …
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The roar of engines and the scent of burnt rubber at Buddh International Circuit are now behind us as the Grand Prix of India crowned Marco Bezzecchi the winner, in a race that heightened tensions in the title chase. Ducati reigned supreme with Bezzecchi and Jorge Martín claiming the top spots, while Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo …
Quartararo Breaks Finger, Ending Yamaha Sepang Test
Fabio Quartararo crashed at Turn 5 on the opening day of the Sepang MotoGP test, falling on his third lap and being taken to the circuit medical centre. Initial checks ruled out fractures but found abrasions to his left arm. But a later assessment revealed a broken finger on his right hand and a sore arm. He returned in the afternoon, added laps, and posted the ninth-fastest time on Yamaha’s much-changed V4 M1, but Yamaha and Quartararo ended his Sepang program after a total of 24 laps (eight in the morning, 16 in the afternoon) so the finger could heal.
The early exit cost Yamaha valuable test time at a session dedicated to assessing the new V4 package. Other V4-related problems emerged during the test, including Andrea Dovizioso stopping with a problem, and team principal Massimo Meregalli even suggested the team might consider benching a rider if necessary. Quartararo himself said the new V4 remained “very, very far” from where it needed to be for one-lap pace and race performance. Yamaha therefore lost on-track data and setup time that had been earmarked for refining handling, electronics, and race pace ahead of the season.
Yamaha and Quartararo prioritised recovery with the Thailand GP opener and a Buriram test (Feb 21–22) in mind. The rider confirmed he planned to skip the rest of Sepang to be fit for those next outings. The withdrawal underlined the preseason trade-off between protecting rider health and securing development mileage on radically updated machinery.
Separately, reports linking Quartararo to a Honda deal for 2027–28 were noted during the test, raising the prospect that 2026 might be his final season with Yamaha.