With an incredible 1:56.550 Red Bull KTM Tech3 rider Miguel Oliveira impressed in FP2 today to kick off the Grand Prix Cescke Republiky just 0.048 seconds behind the front in an excellent third position. Following a less easy FP1 in the morning, the Portuguese turned around fortunes in the significant hotter conditions this afternoon to conquer one of the top three spots.
Meanwhile, Iker Lecuona also improved from the first to the second Free Practice today. The MotoGP World Championship rookie managed to lower his lap time by 0.758 seconds and eventually finished in P20 of the ultra-competitive premier class field. The Spaniard aims to step closer to the front in tomorrow’s FP3 at 9:55 local time.
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Miguel Oliveira
Position: 3rd
Time: 1:56.550
Laps: 34
"Obviously, I feel comfortable. The last race in Jerez really gave us a clearer idea about the direction to take with the setting of the bike, the speed and just the time attack. This afternoon, we managed to do a great job. We had to go through all the tyres and see which one was working better. We had a decent pace and, in the end, everything worked out well. Being third overall of today feels truly good."
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Iker Lecuona
Position: 20th
Time: 1:58.378
Laps: 34
"It was a really difficult day. This track is completely new for me with the MotoGP bike and to be honest, it was never one of my favorites. Now with the KTM RC16, I need to learn a lot in just a short time. I struggled quite a lot, although I could improve my lap time this afternoon. Still, the gap to the front is too big, so I need to continue to work hard together with my team, there are some decisions to take for tomorrow and then we hope to be faster on Saturday."
