Miguel Oliveira: ‘We are not in panic at the moment’ after difficult Sepang test

Miguel Oliveira was unable to set a representative time attack lap on the final day of the Sepang MotoGP test, and as a result finished 1.3 seconds down on Francesco Bagnaia.

Ducati were once again the stars of the show at Sepang as they locked out the top four positions. 

• Repsol Honda targets second-half step towards ‘winning mode’ 

• Joan Mir: "The most important year of my career"

Aleix Espargaro was the first non-Ducati rider which was a good sign for Aprilia, who are expected to be strong when the season officially gets underway.

But for Oliveira more work is needed even if the Portuguese rider admits the new Trackhouse Racing team is not panicking just yet.

Speaking on the final day of last week’s test, Oliveira said: “Physically it’s a little bit difficult to manage the whole three days, but I actually feel good.

“The best training is on the bike, so that’s good. We tried a couple of things this morning and we totally lost the good temperature window to do a lap time.

“Then, we carried on with used tires and just tried to get a little bit more feeling with a stable setting because we have been changing so much throughout every exit.

“We found out that, at the moment, it was just important to get used to the bike and not experiment with too many things.

“Finally, at the end of the day, I got a new rear tyre again but I couldn’t improve. 

"The ideal lap time is a bit more satisfying, but we know how unimportant the time sheet is in a test, so we are not really in panic at the moment.

“We’re just getting through a couple of things to go to Qatar ready to work for the first race.”

Oliveira led the Trackhouse Racing program in Sepang as Raul Fernandez was declared unfit following an accident on day-one.

With Fernandez unable to gain experience with the 2023 RS-GP bike and Oliveira testing various new parts aboard his 24-spec bike, Team Manager Wilco Zeelenberg was clear about what needs to be improved heading into the final pre-season test in Qatar.

“Our first test is done,” began Zeelenberg. “Obviously, not everything was positive with the crash of Raul and his injury. And of course, talking about injuries, Miguel just came back from one during the winter where he tried to recover.

“We definitely need more track time and that we will get in Qatar. At the moment, we are not where we want to be with the bike and the performance, so let’s see how we can use the data we have now and prepare ourselves in the best way possible for Qatar.

“Clearly, Miguel recovered well from his injuries, he never complained through the test.

“Saying that, of course, he did not ride for a long period and jumping from a 2022 RS-GP straight onto a 2024 bike gives him some more adjustment work to do. I hope we are able to show our full potential in Qatar.”