Looking forward to Estoril: Oliveira doesn’t want to let his compatriots down

When Miguel Oliveira made his debut at the start of his international career in the 125cc World Championship (2011), the Circuito do Estoril was part of the MotoGP calendar. Finishing third in qualifying and seventh in the race, his home race proved to be the Portuguese rider’s best race weekend. The following year, things also got off to a flying start in Moto3 with third on the grid, but Oliveira retired from the race.

Whilst Oliveira progressed through Moto3 and Moto2 to reach MotoGP (2019) in the years that followed, the GP circuit gave Portugal a wide berth. When Portimão was added to the calendar in 2020, the then KTM rider crossed the finish line as the winner, to the cheers of thousands of his compatriots!

It was a similar story this year, when the 31-year-old secured three third-place finishes on only his second Superbike weekend. Clearly, Oliveira rises to the occasion at home races.

When the Superbike World Championship visits the Circuito do Estoril this coming weekend in 2026, there are likely to be even more Oliveira fans in attendance: the BMW rider lives in Almada, just 30 minutes from the circuit. Furthermore, the Portuguese rider recently got back on track in Cremona, but could only manage an eighth place in the sprint. In the second race, Oliveira crashed whilst sitting in a promising fifth place.

“The result didn’t reflect everything we achieved this weekend,” emphasised the BMW rider. “But I think we’re in a better position than we were after Magny-Cours, and that’s certainly a positive. It would have been nice to head into my home race with the momentum of a decent result. But we’re determined to have a very good weekend in front of the Portuguese fans. I’m really looking forward to it!”

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