Miguel Oliveira received three penalty places on the Australian Grand Prix grid, and will also have to perform a Long Lap in the race.
Two weeks after his victory in the wet at Buriram, Miguel Oliveira saw a nightmare at Phillip Island. Sixteenth in free practice, the Portuguese qualified 21st after missing his Q1. But he will start 24th and last, due to a penalty received two hours later.
This sanction is imposed by the Stewards of MotoGP “for having carried out an illegal start attempt and having been slow on the trajectory during Q1 MotoGP”, namely between turns 9 and 10 where he notably hindered Enea Bastianini.
Miguel Oliveira’s ordeal will continue once the race has started. The KTM rider will indeed have to perform a Long Lap penalty, which consists of taking a longer part of the track to lose between 2 and 4 seconds depending on the circuit. This should slow his rise towards the points area.
” I am really sorry. This is a dangerous situation for every driver and for me. I can’t go back but I’m so sorry” apologized the Portuguese.
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