Oliveira shines for Mahindra
Mahindra Racing’s Miguel Oliveira in action during the Grand Prix motorcycle racing at the Circuit of The Americas on Monday.
Fresh from their best-ever result in the opening round of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing in Qatar, Mahindra MGP3O went two better in a tense two-part race at the Circuit of The Americas in Texas, when Portuguese rider Miguel Oliveira claimed a fifth place finish.
“I am very happy. It’s very positive for Mahindra and very satisfying because we were struggling to get the perfect set-up. For the race I changed my riding style a lot and felt much more comfortable,” said Oliveira.
The 18-year-old rider gained two places in a fighting last lap of a hectic five-lap sprint.
It was part two of a race that had been red-flagged earlier after a crash.
Teammate Efrén Vázquez, 26, from Spain added to the team’s celebrations by claiming two points, finishing 14th.
“I am a little disappointed because practice and qualifying was not so bad. All weekend I couldn’t find a good feeling with the front tyre. The track is very technical and each time I pushed I was losing front grip, so it was quite a difficult race,” said Vázquez.
The sprint race came about after the planned 18-lapper was red-flagged before the required two-thirds distance had been completed.
Positions counted only for grid places in the restart, over just five laps of the fine new 5.5-km circuit outside the Texas state capital of Austin.
Oliveira had already improved by pulling through to eighth from 18th on the grid. His race was a thriller, as he forced his way through a close pack battling for fifth. In the end he swooped through to lead them all. “I just attacked,” he explained.
Vázquez had also moved up from 15th to 14th for the restart, and held his position.
Now the squad are looking ahead to the Spanish GP at Jerez in two weeks, where the twisty circuit promises much.
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