Miguel Oliveira’s Japan Sprint at Motegi was fundamentally altered during the initial moments of the race after a strong qualifying session left him just short of Q2 and half a second from pole position. The Portuguese rider entered the race hopeful, but a poor start combined with Jorge Martin’s crash directly ahead forced Oliveira into a defensive mode early on.
Qualifying Performance and Early Race Chaos
Oliveira had shown promise during qualifying, posting competitive lap times despite not feeling fully comfortable on the Yamaha M1. His lap time was only two tenths off reaching Q2, four tenths behind Fabio, and approximately half a second from the pole, reflecting a tight field.
“Qualifying was good in terms of lap times. Of course the position didn’t help, but I felt I did the most with the bike, even without feeling 100% on it. Two tenths off Q2, four tenths to Fabio, half a second from pole – it was really tight.” – Miguel Oliveira, Rider
However, all this progress unraveled at the race start, which Oliveira described as disastrous. Attempting to react to Jorge Martin’s crash ahead, Oliveira was forced wide and almost off the track, falling to the very back of the pack. This incident significantly damaged his momentum and motivation during the opening sprint.
“The start was really bad. I had the image of Martin’s crash right in front of me. I tried to avoid him, went wide, almost into the gravel, and I was dead last. From there, motivation wasn’t 100%, but I just tried to gather data for tomorrow.” – Miguel Oliveira, Rider
Oliveira shared insights on the crash itself, noting Martin’s aggressive approach had unsettled his bike at a critical moment, fortunately involving minimal riders.
“He was extremely optimistic on the right side. The bike was already unsettled when he first grabbed the brake, and he had to adjust. Luckily he only took out one rider, because it could have been much worse.” – Miguel Oliveira, Rider
Ongoing Struggles with Bike Grip Affecting Race Strategy
Beyond the chaos of the start, Oliveira pointed to a deeper technical problem consistent throughout the weekend: a lack of grip when accelerating out of slow corners on the Yamaha M1. This deficit caused significant wheelspin, undermining his ability to maintain drive and control in critical sections of the circuit located around Turns 5, 9, and 10.
“We have no grip out of the corners. As soon as we stop the bike and have to start again from very low speed – like Turns 10, 9, and 5 – we spin almost immediately. Even upright with the device down, we’re spinning a lot, and we can’t stop it.” – Miguel Oliveira, Rider
This constant loss of traction forced Oliveira to fight the bike’s behavior rather than fully attack his rivals, setting a frustrating tone for both the race and the weekend’s prospects.
Adjustments Anticipated for Sunday’s Main Race
Looking ahead to Sunday’s MotoGP race, Oliveira and his team planned changes aimed at improving stability, including a switch in tire choice from soft to medium compounds. While he expects the medium tyre to present its own challenges, especially in terms of grip, there is hope that it will provide more consistent performance over race distance.
“Tomorrow will be even worse with the medium, but probably we’ll have more stability and that might help through the race. It’s going to be a hard one.” – Miguel Oliveira, Rider
The Japanese sprint round once again highlighted the Yamaha M1’s limitation but also offered Oliveira an opportunity to continue gathering valuable data. This experience is vital as the team seeks to optimize setup and extract maximum performance despite ongoing mechanical challenges.
