It was one of the news of the week in the sports universe, more because of the way it happened than because of the unexpected. After being invited to return to Tech3, Miguel Oliveira announced his departure from KTM at the end of the season and definitively opened the door to a new chapter in MotoGP.
The announced goodbye of Miguel Oliveira to KTM (still without an alternative): “My future is going to be bright. I deserve so much more.”
“My future will be bright, that’s what I believe. I believe in my potential and that’s what I work for, obviously. I did not accept the proposal that KTM made me to stay in Tech3 because I think I deserve much more than that. I deserve to be higher. I communicated that if they were not available [para eu ficar com o] place that I currently have in the official team, I would look for another solution. That is what we are doing”, said the Portuguese driver in statements to SportTV.
Now, the “other solution”, it seems, will go through Gresini-Ducati. According to SportTV, Miguel Oliveira has already signed a contract with the new team and will switch places directly with Jack Miller, who will team up with Brad Binder at KTM next year. A version that gained strength after a photograph of Miguel Oliveira, along with his father, appeared in the Ducati garages during the Catalan Grand Prix.
Well well well, the things you see in the paddock. Miguel Oliveira, his father / manager Paulo and Paolo Ciabatti entering the Gresini Racing garage…. ???? pic.twitter.com/afbJQl6W4O
— Simon Patterson (@denkmit) June 4, 2022
In this context, the Portuguese driver raced this Sunday in Catalunya, on a circuit where he won last season. Oliveira started from 16th position on a starting grid that had Aleix Espargaró on the pole position, jumped three positions just in the first corner and after the falls of Álex Rins and Pecco Bagnaia and climbed in the classification between retirements and overtaking, entering the top 10 after overtaking Pol Espargaró. Later, Fabio Quartararo took the lead.
Until the end, Quartararo did not let the victory escape and the Grand Prix ended with an unusual moment in which Espargaró thought that the race was over and braked, losing the podium and falling to fifth position. Miguel Oliveira has finished 9th, adding the second consecutive top 10 after having been ninth also in Mugello.
Quartararo upsets the odds! ????@FabioQ20 He takes his second victory of the season! ????#GPCatalan ???? pic.twitter.com/Y2QmyUU865
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) June 5, 2022
Source: Observadora
