Miguel Oliveira finished this Saturday, February 21st, the first race of the Superbike World Championship in eighth place. The dispute took place on Phillip Island, Australia. After starting from 21st and last position on the grid, staged an extraordinary recovery throughout the opening race of the season.
The pilot BMW’s Portuguese driver saw his classification compromised by a crash at the beginning of the superpole session, in turn 2, which prevented him from recording any time. Forced to start from the back of the grid, he responded on the track with an effective start and progressive overtaking from the first laps.
Upon arriving at the same corner, where he had crashed hours before, he had already gained three positions and quickly entered the points zone by reaching 15th place. With uWith a stable and error-free pace, he continued to climb the rankings throughout the race.
With six laps to go he entered the top-10, benefiting from the crash of Spaniard Xavi Vierge (Yamaha), and in the decisive phase he overtook two more opponents, crossing the finish line in eighth. The triumph belonged to Italian Nicolò Bulega (Ducati), who led from start to finish after starting from pole position. The podium was completely filled by Italian Ducati riders, with Yari Montella in second and Lorenzo Baldassarri in third.
Oliveira thus adds his first eight points in the championship, at a time when he makes his debut in the Superbike World Championship after his time in MotoGP. This Sunday the second day of competition takes place in Phillip Island, with the Superpole race — shorter and decisive for the grid — followed by the second long race of the Australian round. Miguel Oliveira will have a new opportunity to consolidate his adaptation to Superbikes and seek an even more competitive result, while Nicolò Bulega will defend his initial championship lead in a round that closes the first of the 12 rounds of the season.
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