Two young Portuguese talents tipped for success by Miguel Oliveira

Five-time MotoGP winner Miguel Oliveira has identified two Portuguese riders who he thinks could be stars of the future of motorcycle racing.

Oliveira moves on from MotoGP following the end of the 2025 season after six seasons in the class in which he has won five times. The Portuguese will move to World Superbike in 2026 with BMW, leaving the grand prix paddock without a Portuguese rider.

But Oliveira, who will have his first WorldSBK test next week (26–27 November), thinks that there are two talents coming through the ranks from Portugal who have a chance to break through to the top.

“We have a small kid now that has entered in Red Bull Rookies Cup,” Miguel Oliveira told the pre-event press conference at the Portuguese Grand Prix.

“His name is Afonso Almeida. He’s a young talent, he’s also surrounded very well with his family and I think he has the chance to make it. 

“But it’s not easy. There is a lot of competition.

“He achieved a milestone in his career which is to have the platform to shine in this paddock with Red Bull Rookies Cup and who knows where he might end up in the future.”

Oliveira added that Tomas Alonso, who has raced for the Miguel Oliveira Racing Team in the past, as had Almeida.

“Also, on the Sportbike category there will possibly be an interesting Portuguese rider which is Tomas Alonso,” Oliveira said.

“We also started with him when he was very young and he raced for us in our team. He’s also a guy that I see in him a lot of potential.”