The WorldSBK weekend at Circuito do Estoril offered a mix of high promise and lingering frustration for Miguel Oliveira, who showcased competitive pace before a disastrous start derailed his main ambitions. Securing fifth place in the Superpole and following it up with a pair of fourth-place finishes in Race 1 and the Superpole Race, the Portuguese rider had firmly established BMW as a major contender near the podium spots.
However, hopes of capping off the weekend with another stellar result in Race 2 evaporated during a chaotic first lap. Despite a decent launch off the line, the factory rider found himself losing four positions through the opening sequence of corners after failing to find a clean path through the congested midfield pack.
"I tried to get on the inside line, but I got caught up in the group and it just didn't work out. Because of that, I was already much further back than I expected," Miguel Oliveira explained to a small group of journalists. Matters escalated further at Turn 6. "After that, I had a strange kick on the kerb at Turn 6. I had to release the brake again to get the bike into the right position and had to take a very wide line. And then, well, I probably lost another position in every single corner. What can I say: it was a very bad first lap."
Stuck deep in the midfield, the former MotoGP race winner admitted to struggling heavily when trying to overtake slower machinery due to the aerodynamic and chassis limitations when running in dirty air. "The problem is that I cannot ride the bike the way you need to when you are behind other riders. We cannot ride our normal line and cannot choose our braking point freely. That makes it much harder when you have other guys in front of you," he noted.
Complicating the early stages further, the tires exhibited strange behavior during the first three laps, delivering a sensation akin to low tire pressure that caused multiple slides and vibrations at full lean angle. Once clear of traffic, his true pace emerged, but the damage to race 2 was already done.
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