Looking back following the Phillip Island Grand Prix, Red Bull KTM ace Miguel Oliveira spoke candidly regarding his misconduct on Saturday in the course of MotoGP qualifying and the resulting consequences.
Miguel Oliveira shot from the back of the field to 12th place in Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix, although overtaking was a difficult proposition for the KTM rider. The 27-year-old lacked the speed on the straights to be able to attack from the slipstream.
Regarding the qualifying incident on Saturday, which resulted in Oliveira being handed a grid reset and a long lap penalty for the race, the outgoing KTM star says: “It was completely my fault. I missed the time on the display. On the very fast straight at start/finish I almost didn’t have the time to look at the pit board. You can get there very quickly.”
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Welcome to Phillip Island racing
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Enea Bastianini
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johann zarco
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start of the race
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Alex Rins
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Brad Binder
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fabio quartararo
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Aleix Espargaró
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Marco Bezzecchi
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Francesco Bagnaia
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johann zarco
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George Martin
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Marc Márquez
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Alex Rins
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Maverick Vinales
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Miguel Oliveira
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Enea Bastianini
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Alex Rins wins the race
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M. Marquez, Rins, Bagnaia
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Winner Alex Rins
The Viennese by choice, who was sensational in Thailand and conquered his fifth MotoGP victory, described the situation from his point of view as follows: “I crossed the finish line without checking whether the checkered flag was actually out there. Then I put the guys and myself in danger because I made a practice start one lap too early. It was definitely not my best moment.”
The Portuguese later put it into perspective: “My mistake had no serious consequences. Okay, but I disturbed Bastianini a little and I’m sorry regarding that too. I think the long lap penalty hurt me more in the race. When you drive with fast people, a penalty like that can change everything. The pace showed that I might have fought for more than 12th place.”
In fact, in the last quarter of the race, Oliveira did some laps with the speed and lap times of the top 6. “Miguel might have fought for the podium with a better starting position and without a long-lap penalty,” said his father and manager Paulo Oliveira.
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MotoGP result, Phillip Island (10/16):
1. Rins, Suzuki, 27 Rdn in 40:50,654 min
2. Marc Marquez, Honda, +0.186sec
3. Bagnaia, Ducati, + 0.224
4. Bezzecchi, Ducati, +0.534
5. Bastianini, Ducati, + 0.557
6. Marini, Ducati, +0.688
7. Martin, Ducati, +0.884
8. Zarco, Ducati, + 3.141
9. Aleix Espargaró, Aprilia, + 4.548
10. Brad Binder, KTM, + 5,949
11. Pol Espargaro, Honda, +11,048
12. Oliveira, KTM, + 13,606
13. Crutchlow, Yamaha, +13,890
14. Darryn Binder, Yamaha, + 14,526
15. Gardner, KTM, + 19,470
16. Raúl Fernández, KTM, + 20,645
17. Viñales, Aprilia, + 22.167
18. Mir, Suzuki, +23,489
19. Nagashima, Honda, +39,618
20. Di Giannantonio, Ducati, + 39.633
– Morbidelli, Yamaha, 6 laps down
– Quartararo, Yamaha, 17 laps back
– Miller, Ducati, 19 laps back
– Alex Marquez, Honda, 19 laps down
MotoGP World Championship standings (following 18 of 20 races):
1. Bagnaia 233 Punkte. 2. Quartararo 219. 3. Aleix Espargaró 206. 4. Bastianini 191. 5. Miller 179. 6. Brad Binder 160. 7. Zarco 159. 8. Rins 137. 9. Martin 136. 10. Oliveira 135. 11. Viñales 122. 12. Marini 111. 13. Marc Márquez 104. 14. Bezzecchi 93. 15. Mir 77. 16. Pol Espargaró 54. 17. Alex Márquez 50. 18. Nakagami 46. 19. Morbidelli 31. 20. Di Giannantonio 23 21. Dovizioso 15. 22. Darryn Binder 12. 23. Gardner 10. 24. Raúl Fernández 9. 25. Crutchlow 6. 26. Bradl 2.
Constructors’ Championship:
1. Ducati 407 points (title winner). 2. Aprilia 242. 3. Yamaha 227. 4. KTM 212. 5. Suzuki 163. 6. Honda 144.
Team World Cup:
1. Ducati Lenovo Team 412 Punkte. 2. Aprilia Racing 328. 3. Red Bull KTM Factory 295. 4. Prima Pramac Racing 295. 5. Monster Energy Yamaha 250. 6. Gresini Racing 214. 7. Suzuki Ecstar 214. 8. Mooney VR46 Racing 204. 9. Repsol Honda 160. 10. LCR Honda 96. 11. WithU Yamaha RNF 33. 12. Tech3 KTM Factory 19.