Miguel Oliveira: ‘Huge effort’ from Yamaha for Pramac project
“We're seeing a huge effort from [Yamaha] to equalise material between every bike"
If Miguel Oliveira had any doubts about the seriousness with which Yamaha is taking the new satellite Pramac partnership, they would have disappeared when he was swamped by factory engineers during the Barcelona MotoGP Test.
Represented by just the factory team for the past two seasons, Yamaha is returning to four bikes on next year’s grid.
Most significantly, for the first time in the MotoGP era, the satellite machines will be of full factory specification, equal to Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins in the Monster team.
For Oliveira, it’s the ‘only way to catch up’.
“We're seeing a huge effort from [Yamaha] to equalise material between every bike, for the first time in [their] history, and that's definitely the way to go,” said Oliveira.
“It's the only way if you want to catch up to your competitors.”
Since beginning his MotoGP career with Tech3 in 2019, Oliveira has ridden for Red Bull KTM, RNF and Trackhouse Aprilia.
The Barcelona test was his first experience of working and communicating with a Japanese manufacturer.
“It's for sure different, but it's nice because you need to say things very directly and then they double-check with you, to be sure what you said is what you actually mean,” Oliveira said.
“That's good because, apart from the data, the only thing they have to process is our comments.”
Another significant change is that Oliveira and team-mate Jack Miller are now eligible for private MotoGP testing due to Yamaha’s D concession ranking.
“I'm ready. I'm ready to make some laps and to test things,” Oliveira said of an increased 2025 track schedule. “I knew what I was getting into, and it's a pleasure that we can give this contribution and make steps forward in that way.”
That extra testing includes access to next year’s Sepang Shakedown test, before the Official test in early February.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
