Miguel Oliveira’s debut in the Superbike World Championship ended with encouraging signs. The Portuguese BMW driver concluded this Sunday, February 22, the second race of the inaugural round, held in Phillip Island (Australia), in seventh position, after starting from 21st and last place on the grid.
The race was marked by intense rain and several falls, but Oliveira managed a consistent recovery throughout the laps. Halfway through the race he was already in the top-10 and confirmed the climb in the final moments, securing seventh place after overtaking opponents in the final meters.
The triumph went to the Italian Nicolò Bulega (Ducati), who completed a perfect weekend by also winning Saturday’s race and the sprint race. Axel Bassani (Bimota) finished in second place and Spaniard Álvaro Bautista (Ducati) closed the podium. Oliveira crossed the finish line 32.135 seconds behind the winner.
The Portuguese had a conditioned weekend from the start. A crash in qualifying prevented him from setting a competitive time and relegated him to the back row of the grid.a situation worsened by technical problems in the Superpole race just hours before the main race.
Despite this, it confirmed its traditional competitiveness on a wet track and staged a significant recovery, scoring nine points in this second race, after the eight achieved on Saturday. In total, he accumulated 17 points and occupies eighth place in the championship after the first of 12 rounds, 45 points behind leader Bulega, who has the maximum score. The next stage of the World Cup takes place in Portugal, at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, in Portimão, on March 29th.
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