“Uplifting” Spanish GP for Yamaha spurring on one rider in MotoGP return at Le Mans

Pramac’s Miguel Oliveira says watching Yamaha’s strong Spanish Grand Prix was “uplifting” for him as he gears up for his MotoGP return in France following an injury layoff.

Miguel Oliveira has been out of action since Saturday at the Argentina Grand Prix following a collision with Fermin Aldeguer during the sprint.

The Pramac rider suffered a sternoclavicular dislocation in the incident, which put him on the sidelines.

He has been cleared to return to action this weekend at the French GP, which comes two weeks after Yamaha scored a first pole since 2022 and first podium since 2023 with Fabio Quartararo at Jerez.

“Watching from home was extremely uplifting, especially the pole position on Saturday morning,” he told MotoGP’s official website.

“That was the highlight of the weekend because it was such an amazing lap by Fabio.

“And of course, when you get a result like that after the difficult seasons they’ve had, it’s a super motivating moment for the whole team, for the whole project.

“So, for me it was really nice to see Fabio up there. But also all the other guys were quite strong.

“For one reason or another they couldn’t get their laps together in qualifying, but Jack [Miller] was doing an amazing race on Sunday.

“Then Alex [Rins] built up a good recovery and good race after the crash [in practice], and Augusto [Fernandez] did what he had to do.

“So, I would say it was a good, solid weekend. And just we need to keep going like this.”

Oliveira says his recovery hasn’t been the hardest of his career, but the delicate nature of the injury meant it was “tricky” to rehab without hurting himself again.

“I’m very excited to be able to be back on the bike,” he added.

“Recovery was long. Not one of the hardest I’ve had, but it was very tricky to start moving the arm without having the risk of another luxation of the clavicle.

“So, that was a tricky one, trying to increase the range of motion, increase the strength but without having the damage back again.

“So, that was the tricky part of the recovery process but the rest was quite smooth.”

As for expectations for his return at Le Mans, Oliveira noted: “Basically, for me, it’s making every lap count as a good lap, getting through all of the races and especially Sunday trying to finish better than I started.

“That’s a realistic goal. I’m not focusing on positions, just building a solid base and solid speed throughout the sessions.”