Miguel Oliveira happy with wet win: “I’ll take a win on the wet any day!”

The Red Bull KTM Factory racing rider once again enjoyed a special synergy with his machine which saw him able to work his way to the front of the race at the Chang International circuit with relative ease - a feat he already achieved earlier in the season in Indonesia.

Though his wet weather reputation now precedes him, three of his five wins in the class have come in dry conditions, the Portuguese rider was happy to take a win in any conditions stating “I’ll take a win on the wet anyday”.

Going on to explain where his ability in the tricky conditions comes from - he also excelled in the wet on his way up to MotoGP in the support classes, he added:

There is no further explanation, just a comment that I would like to be more competitive in the dry… if its raining I’ll take the advantage and increase that average”.

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In Thailand the #88 had started from eleventh on the grid and wasted no time in moving his way up to third. Oliveira then reeled in Jack Miller, another rider who thrives in the wet, and used his strengths over the second two sectors of the lap to line up the Australian and make his pass stick at turn eleven. From that point in the race he looked to have matters under control and continued his near perfect run through the damp to claim victory.

Oliveira explained that although he feels he has no special ability to ride differently or better than his rivals in the wet, he believes the decision to be confident and get to grips with the rain and track as early as possible is key, saying, “I could get to the point in the race where I was catching Jack a little and really analyse how my potential was to go a bit faster or to overtake him.

The first impact, the first moment, the first ten minutes when you ride on the wet, that is very crucial. You can make the step and this first ten minutes of the race, they are the most important ones that give you the potential and also the education, feeling-wise, how fast you can push”.