until Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League
Before the lights went out for the start of today’s inaugural Indonesian Grand Prix at the new Mandalika Bay circuit, few would have pinned their hopes on Red Bull KTM rider Miguel Oliveira, both thanks to a lack of form of late for the Portuguese rider and thanks to the absence of a strong pedigree at riding in wet weather conditions.
Yet, one incredible performance later, Oliveira managed to rack up his fourth premier class win in his 50th race – thanks in large part due to his bravery and skill in the very early seconds of the shortened 20-lap race.
It wasn’t just the first wet running at the track but it was the first wet track time for most of the grid this season bar a few damp hours in pre-season testing in Sepang, so prior to the start of the race there was very little opportunity to judge just how much grip was on offer at the brand new circuit.
Last November’s World Superbike round suggested the track would give plenty of wet weather traction and Michelin’s universally-loved wet tyres, there was an assumption from some that they could push on – but it was an excellent lunge across the grid from seventh to second that in the end handed him the key to victory as he slotted in behind Ducati rider Jack Miller and was able to assess conditions from there.
“Going behind some riders helped,” Oliveira explained. “Going behind Jack, I could see the lap times and build up a reference, especially for the braking points, and especially after that I could see my lap times and that I was building a gap. I just tried to maintain that without taking a lot of risk and making any mistakes.
“I think without this good start the race could have been a bit different for me. I really couldn’t see behind the other riders with the spray and a lot of rain on the visor – it was definitely hard to be precise. It was also hard to judge the grip level, and I think by the end of the race I was able to see how much I could push.”
After his rocket start, Oliveira still had plenty of work to do, he passed Miller and had to deal with reigning world champion Fabio Quartararo hunting him down in the closing laps.
“To ride 20 laps in the rain in a practice is quite different from a race,” he added. “You can change the braking points, go wide, cool down the tyres, explore a bit – and here I had to manage it. I made a good start following Jack a little bit, and I could understand a bit more. Then it was just building up a gap for the rest of the race.
“If the race had been seven laps more, I don’t know what would have happened because Fabio was coming on pretty strongly, but I’m happy to come back to the podium with the win.”
The win marks something of a renaissance for Oliveira and KTM, coming one race after an impressive and similarly impressive podium finish for team-mate Brad Binder last time out in Qatar.
But, with the Austrian manufacturer’s form throughout 2021 being somewhat characterised by occasional spikes in form followed by equally sharp lows, Oliveira is insistent that KTM can’t get too excited just yet about its progress in getting the RC16 machine onto a more even keel.
“I think it’s very early to say because we’ve only got two races,” Oliveira added. “Of course, we want to keep this strong feeling going into the races ahead, because we don’t just want to perform three or four times a year and to be average – we want to be up there more often.
“We are aware we need to work really hard, that is the normal way in this category because everyone is so close in this category. We are focusing first of all on being fast and producing good performances in the races.”
