Miguel Oliveira honoured with Estoril corner name for WorldSBK round
Miguel Oliveira has had a corner named after him at the Circuito do Estoril in Portugal.
The Circuito do Estoril has named one of its corners after Portuguese star Miguel Oliveira in time for the penultimate WorldSBK round of the season.
The Estoril Round is Oliveira’s second home race of his rookie WorldSBK season, following on from Portimao back in March.
Oliveira himself said the circuit remained “vivid” in his mind ahead of the weekend despite having not raced there since the Moto3 race in 2012.
Although by now Portimao is the Portuguese circuit most associated with world championship motorcycle racing, having held a WorldSBK round since 2009 and a MotoGP race since 2020, it’s Estoril that is closest to Oliveira’s place of birth, Almada, since the track is located just west of Lisbon.
The corner which now bears Oliveira’s name is turn seven, the right-hander dropping down the hill after the Parabolica Interior. Previously nameless, the turn is now referred to as the Miguel Oliveira Corner.
Oliveira joins Ayrton Senna, whose first Formula 1 victory came at Estoril with Lotus in 1986, in having a corner named after him at the circuit.
The unveiling of the plaque on the inside of the corner was conducted, with Oliveira present, following a parade in which Oliveira was joined by fans on a ride from Sintra to Estoril.
The 31-year-old is the first active WorldSBK rider to have a corner named after him at a circuit on the current calendar since Carlos Checa had turn three at MotorLand named in his honour back in 2011. Aragon, of course, also has the Marc Marquez Corner at turn 10.
Oliveira started his Estoril WorldSBK weekend with decent speed, finishing 10th in FP1 on Friday morning.
Alex joined the Crash.net team in August of 2024 having covered consumer and racing motorcycle news at Visordown for two years.
