‘Like Hayden at Laguna’ – The case for Oliveira winning again

Former Red Bull KTM rider Pol Espargaro has kicked off the weekend at the Portuguese Grand Prix by piling the pressure onto his replacement Miguel Oliveira, asserting that the local hero goes into this weekend’s race as the clear favourite after his runaway victory at the Portimao circuit five months ago.

That comes despite poor opening rounds for both Oliveira and KTM as a whole in Qatar, where various issues from tyre allocation to technical problems saw them struggling to make an impact on the top spots.

But, with huge local support this weekend in Portimao, Espargaro says that he firmly believes that Oliveira will be able to deliver a home race performance similar to what we’ve seen from others in the past.

“This race track with Miguel reminds me of Nicky Hayden at Laguna Seca,” Espargaro said.

“Sometimes Nicky was struggling, but when he was at Laguna Seca he smashed everyone. I have the feeling that this place is the same.

“The track is quite wild, and whatever it is about the bike, I don’t think that KTM is in a bad situation. Qatar is Qatar, and whatever the situation there, they’ll be OK here.

“I don’t think they’re in a bad situation, honestly and Miguel will be very fast here like he was last year. He’s definitely going to be the guy to beat. I have no doubts.”

Hayden took two of his three MotoGP wins at the Californian track winning there when it was returned to the MotoGP calendar in 2005 and doubling up the following year en route to his historic title win.

Not returning to the top step again after retiring in 2007 and then struggling with a move to Ducati for the following year, he nonetheless managed to consistently outperform his results elsewhere at the track until it was removed from the calendar again in 2014.

After Oliveira’s domination of last year’s race, Espargaro isn’t the only one tipping the Portuguese rider for further success – but as usual, Oliveira is making sure that he doesn’t get too flustered by any pressure being placed upon him.

“It’s normal after the performance last season that everyone will put me up as a favourite,” he admitted in the pre-event press conference.

“But the reality is that the weekend hasn’t even started yet; it starts tomorrow.

“Right now, everyone has zero points for this weekend, from the 25 that we need to get on Sunday, and I just hope that I can have a good weekend, enjoy myself, and have a strong beginning to the Grand Prix.”

However, he did concede that there is something special about the weekend, even if the race will once again be held behind closed doors and not in front of packed grandstands. Already a huge celebrity in his native land, he received an incredible response on Wednesday night when hundreds of fans greeted him at the circuit – and says that atmosphere is motivation.

“It absolutely feels like a home race,” he told The Race.

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“First of all I didn’t have to take a plane anywhere, I could just drive here, which is a big bonus. But it feels like home. I got this huge reception yesterday from people who can’t be in the grandstands, just gathering at the entrance to cheer me on. It’s a great feeling.

“To be honest I actually got a little bit nervous because I wasn’t expecting it and it was a great surprise. Hopefully, they’re as happy as me on Sunday night!”

And there’s a better chance of his weekend coming with a happy ending than last time out, too, as KTM finally get rid of the Losail circuit and return to happier stomping grounds. Flummoxed by Michelin’s front tyre allocation in Qatar and unable to find confidence with the front, Oliveira’s teammate Brad Binder says things will be better this time out.

“For sure our KTM worked really well here last year, and from the first session we were able to be in that front bunch,” Binder told The Race.

“I didn’t have the pace of Miguel and Pol, but apart from that it was impressive to see how Miguel won the race.

“We’re coming into here with a good feeling and a good understanding of what works and what doesn’t with the bike here, so I’m really excited to get that first session started now.

“Miguel is a great reference with him winning the race by quite a few sessions last year, and we already have some very good data. We’ve already been able to go through everything this morning, checked some places where i can improve, and we’ve got a clear indication of where we need to work because he was the quickest guy there.”