Miguel Oliveira insisted he was “lucky not to crash” having pushed hard to catch the leaders when it began to rain in the closing stages of the British Grand Prix.
The RNF Aprilia pilot looked to be off the pace throughout the Silverstone MotoGP weekend having ended Friday’s dry running 14th on the timesheets, his performance not looking any better as the rain arrived on Saturday as he qualified a lowly 16th.
He managed to find speed when it mattered on Sunday though as he scythed through the field across the opening portion of the British GP, the Portuguese racer climbing all the way into the top six well before half-distance – although around five seconds or so adrift of the leading quintet before rain began to fall.
Oliveira threw caution to the wind though and managed to eat up his entire deficit to the front-runners in just a couple tours, moving past Maverick Vinales and Brad Binder into third with only a couple laps left to run – though he eventually claimed fourth after Binder slipped back past on the final lap.
Speaking shortly after his second top-five result of the 2023 campaign, Oliveira admitted that he was “lucky not to crash” as he took maximum risk during the wetter parts of the track to close up to the lead battle.
“It was good to come from 16th and finish that close to the podium and win, for sure the rain helped me to catch some time that I lost because I took more risks,” explained Oliveira.
“I was lucky not to crash, and it was a shame I wasn’t able to hold Brad (Binder) behind going in to the last lap but this is racing and I tried my best right until the final corner but I wasn’t quite close enough.
“Once you see the raindrops on the visor you always take a bit more care, it’s a strange situation because you have to keep pushing for the tyres to remain up to temperature, and if you’re careful the situation can be even worse but then if you push you can crash so it’s always hard to find the limit.
“You can use the riders ahead as a bit of a target as if they are a bit careful you can try and got a little bit faster and see what happens.”
The five-time premier class race winner added that he run to fourth at Silverstone provided him a “good boost mentally” following a tricky start to the season which has seen him sustain several injuries largely not of his own doing – Oliveira working hard to try and return to 100% fitness as he admitted he struggled with his forearm in the closing stages of the contest.
“Today is definitely a good boost mentally, I did struggle a bit with my forearm during the weekend and the last couple laps of the race were a bit hard but I think it’s just a matter of getting back to the pace again and to get the maximum from myself and the bike,” continued Oliveira.
“It’s been a strong weekend for the Aprilia’s in general, and I’m happy to be there in the top five.”
