Miguel Oliveira Misano WorldSBK pace suffers as “weird” issue strikes in Race 1

A “weird vibration” struck Miguel Oliveira in his first WorldSBK race back from injury at Misano.

Oliveira qualified reasonably well in 11th considering he’s missed the last two rounds and remains a rookie despite some impressive results in his opening WorldSBK races earlier this season.

By Olveira’s own admission, he is not fully recovered from the shoulder injuries he suffered in the Superpole Race at Balaton Park last month, and that made an impact on his Superpole performance, but he added that there was a vibration in Race 1 that he had to deal with from the opening lap.

“It was a good Saturday,” Miguel Oliveira reflected, speaking to WorldSBK.com after Race 1 at Misano.

“For sure in the qualifying I left a little time on the track just because I was not able to push to 100 per cent. 

“In the race, I just kept my pace, I dropped a little bit because of a weird vibration that started immediately in lap one. 

“The vibration almost made me retire because it was really big and I would feel it all over through the front brake and the bike was not stopping so well. 

“But I kept pushing, dropped a little bit the pace. I saw that behind me I could have a comfortable gap, so I just tried to get to Locatelli, but it was already really tough. 

“I ran wide twice in turn eight and lost around two seconds, but it was a solid result. [Normally] I would not be happy with a P8 but today I think I can smile about it.”

Oliveira added that strength in direction changes is where he is suffering the most in terms of his physical condition.

“I feel a little bit tired, for sure – the shoulder is very sore, for sure, because it is not only the lack of power but also the pain I have trying to flick the bike from one side to the other,” he explained.

“When I brake on the left also sometimes the shoulder comes forward without me really wanting to.

“So, it’s tough to control, but at least it’s a good gym session to be out with 30C-plus air temperature. We’ll try to do the same tomorrow.”