It was a day Miguel Oliveira won’t soon forget, and not for good reasons. The Prima Pramac rider faced immense frustration after finishing next-to-last in the first qualifying session for the San Marino MotoGP Grand Prix. His session was marred by two crashes and a pesky electrical problem with his Yamaha.
Oliveira didn’t mince words, calling it “a very complicated day.” He pointed to the two crashes in the first session as hard to explain. “Especially the second one,” he said, “because the front tire simply gave up.” The setup of his bike didn’t help, either. He described it as “a quite nervous bike, with the front twisting a lot.” Later in the afternoon, the team tried a major change on one bike. But then an electrical issue popped up, making the bike act very strangely. It would do wheelies at times, then stop, and the traction control was completely out of whack. When he switched to his other bike for a time attack, the same old problems from the morning came back. He just couldn’t push it. Despite the rough start, the rider remains hopeful, saying, “It was a difficult day, but I expect a big improvement tomorrow.” This tough outing comes just after his best result of the season, a ninth-place finish at the Catalonian GP last weekend.
Looking ahead, Saturday brings more action at Misano. The second free practice session starts at 9:10 AM Lisbon time. Q1 kicks off at 9:50 AM, followed by Q2 at 10:15 AM. Later in the afternoon, starting at 2:00 PM, riders will battle it out in the San Marino GP sprint race.