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.
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.
An eight-second sanction for exceeding Michelin’s specified tire-pressure window demoted Pedro Acosta from third to eighth in the MotoGP Tissot Sprint at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA), promoting Enea Bastianini onto the Sprint podium. Bastianini had started 12th and crossed the line fourth on track before the penalty was applied, giving him his second Sprint podium with the Tech3 #23 KTM. He called the result “an unexpected podium,” said “finally, there weren’t 20 bikes in front of me,” praised the soft-tyre choice and the bike’s top speed, and blamed a qualifying mistake, straightline instability and the crosswind — “my worst enemy” — for his low grid slot and lingering acceleration issues out of Turn 11. Bastianini added that the result restored his confidence after difficult weekends in Thailand and Brazil and he hoped to carry that momentum into Sunday’s main race.
The on-track Sprint was won by Jorge Martin, who took the 10-lap victory by 0.755 seconds over Francesco Bagnaia after a decisive last-lap pass. Martin rode an Aprilia on Michelin control tyres and used a medium rear for the move. Several incidents reshuffled the final classification: on the opening lap pole-sitter Fabio Di Giannantonio and Marc Márquez made contact and both crashed (Márquez was later handed a long-lap penalty); Marco Bezzecchi crashed out after running near the front and failed to finish; and Joan Mir crashed out of fourth on the final lap.
Martin’s Sprint win moved him to the top of the world championship standings on 57 points, one ahead of Marco Bezzecchi on 56, with Acosta third on 49 after the penalty.
Marco Bezzecchi converted pole into victory at the Thailand Grand Prix in Buriram, leading every lap to claim his seventh MotoGP win and a third consecutive triumph that continued the streak from the final two races of the previous season. Bezzecchi had been fastest in every session he entered but endured a difficult weekend — he crashed out of the Sprint and suffered a heavy qualifying crash that deployed his airbag and left him sore — yet he kept pole for Sunday’s race and dominated the Grand Prix itself.
The weekend was also marked by tire drama and wider Ducati struggles. Marc Márquez’s race ended when his rear tire delaminated and came off the rim at Turn 6, forcing his retirement; Ducati failed to record a podium at Buriram for the first time since the 2021 British Grand Prix, their best-placed rider being Fabio di Giannantonio in sixth. Pedro Acosta, who race stewards promoted to the Sprint win after Márquez was penalized for contact and who leads the early championship as the first KTM rider to top the standings this season, finished second in the Grand Prix.
Raúl Fernández completed the podium in third despite losing pace and suffering a late physical issue, with Jorge Martín fourth. Aprilia benefited from a strong showing, with Fernández on the podium and Ai Ogura recovering to finish inside the top five. Alex Márquez crashed with five laps remaining and Francesco Bagnaia was promoted to ninth following that incident.
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 MotoGP action in Thailand was nothing short of exhilarating. Jorge Martin of Pramac Racing emerged victorious in a nail-biting finish, closely shadowed by Ducati Team’s Francesco Bagnaia. Brad Binder’s last-lap error added to the spectacle, giving Bagnaia a crucial boost in the championship standings. As Martin celebrated his fourth grand prix win of the …
Miguel Oliveira Fights To Get Back on Track
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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Bastianini back on Tech3 podium after COTA Sprint penalty
An eight-second sanction for exceeding Michelin’s specified tire-pressure window demoted Pedro Acosta from third to eighth in the MotoGP Tissot Sprint at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA), promoting Enea Bastianini onto the Sprint podium. Bastianini had started 12th and crossed the line fourth on track before the penalty was applied, giving him his second Sprint podium with the Tech3 #23 KTM. He called the result “an unexpected podium,” said “finally, there weren’t 20 bikes in front of me,” praised the soft-tyre choice and the bike’s top speed, and blamed a qualifying mistake, straightline instability and the crosswind — “my worst enemy” — for his low grid slot and lingering acceleration issues out of Turn 11. Bastianini added that the result restored his confidence after difficult weekends in Thailand and Brazil and he hoped to carry that momentum into Sunday’s main race.
The on-track Sprint was won by Jorge Martin, who took the 10-lap victory by 0.755 seconds over Francesco Bagnaia after a decisive last-lap pass. Martin rode an Aprilia on Michelin control tyres and used a medium rear for the move. Several incidents reshuffled the final classification: on the opening lap pole-sitter Fabio Di Giannantonio and Marc Márquez made contact and both crashed (Márquez was later handed a long-lap penalty); Marco Bezzecchi crashed out after running near the front and failed to finish; and Joan Mir crashed out of fourth on the final lap.
Martin’s Sprint win moved him to the top of the world championship standings on 57 points, one ahead of Marco Bezzecchi on 56, with Acosta third on 49 after the penalty.
Bezzecchi secures third straight win, seventh MotoGP
Marco Bezzecchi converted pole into victory at the Thailand Grand Prix in Buriram, leading every lap to claim his seventh MotoGP win and a third consecutive triumph that continued the streak from the final two races of the previous season. Bezzecchi had been fastest in every session he entered but endured a difficult weekend — he crashed out of the Sprint and suffered a heavy qualifying crash that deployed his airbag and left him sore — yet he kept pole for Sunday’s race and dominated the Grand Prix itself.
The weekend was also marked by tire drama and wider Ducati struggles. Marc Márquez’s race ended when his rear tire delaminated and came off the rim at Turn 6, forcing his retirement; Ducati failed to record a podium at Buriram for the first time since the 2021 British Grand Prix, their best-placed rider being Fabio di Giannantonio in sixth. Pedro Acosta, who race stewards promoted to the Sprint win after Márquez was penalized for contact and who leads the early championship as the first KTM rider to top the standings this season, finished second in the Grand Prix.
Raúl Fernández completed the podium in third despite losing pace and suffering a late physical issue, with Jorge Martín fourth. Aprilia benefited from a strong showing, with Fernández on the podium and Ai Ogura recovering to finish inside the top five. Alex Márquez crashed with five laps remaining and Francesco Bagnaia was promoted to ninth following that incident.
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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 MotoGP action in Thailand was nothing short of exhilarating. Jorge Martin of Pramac Racing emerged victorious in a nail-biting finish, closely shadowed by Ducati Team’s Francesco Bagnaia. Brad Binder’s last-lap error added to the spectacle, giving Bagnaia a crucial boost in the championship standings. As Martin celebrated his fourth grand prix win of the …