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Miguel "Rain Master" Oliveira Tip-Toes on Water to Take the Win in Indonesia

Miguel Oliveira took his fourth ever race win in the premier class of motorcycle racing at the Mandalika International Street Circuit in Indonesia, showing his skills on a wet track.
Indonesian GP 2022 13 photos
Photo: MotoGP
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Oliveira started from seventh place, but he passed everyone to take victory for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. At the Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia, the defending World Champion Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) took second place after starting from pole, and the last position on the podium was achieved by Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing).

Spanish rider and six-time World Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) was forced to miss the race after a concussion following a massive crash during the warm-up session, just hours before the start of the race. Marquez is still recovering after the worst injury of his career, following the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix crash.

The Indonesian Grand Prix came back to the calendar after 25 years of absence, but the 63,000 spectators had to wait more than an hour because the officials delayed the race start due to a thunderstorm that hit Lombok Island. In addition, the race was shortened from 27 laps to 20 laps.

Indonesian GP 2022\-3
Photo: MotoGP
Quartararo got a great launch from pole position and comfortably led the pack after the first corner. Oliveira was keen to get in front early with visibility at a minimum, so he made a lightning start from P7 to grab P2.

In Lap 2, Oliveira and Miller passed Quartararo. El Diablo and Miller shared a moment by involving in a minor collision. "I just passed him, and he precedes to ride his motorcycle into the side of my leg. Quite clearly like he did with Johann. I don't think it's necessary, once somebody passes you, to immediately accelerate towards their front tire," declared Jack after the race.

Fabio disagreed by saying: "I don't care. I don't care because he's the one in the paddock in the past that has made some aggressive moves also, and I think my move was not really aggressive."

While these two started to break clear of Fabio, Miller picked off Miguel for the race lead. After a significant moment in Turn 1, Francesco Bagnaia achieved to stay on his bike, showing some gymnastic skills. The first race winner, Enea Bastianini, struggled and dropped off from fifth on the grid to P20.

Indonesian GP 2022\-12
Photo: MotoGP
Jorge Martin had an identical moment as Bagnaia, catching one of the puddles at Turn 1, but he was not as acrobatic as Francesco. On lap 6, the Portuguese rider overtook Miller. At the same time, Johann Zarco was the fastest rider on the track, starting to hunt down Miller for P2. However, Quartararo showed why he is the World Champion and came back to retake second place.

"I mean, emotionally, it was a rollercoaster. The start was perfect, but then in the wet, it's so hard to judge where the limit is,"
Oliveira said after the chaotic race.
"So, I followed Jack for a couple of laps, and then I understood I could still go a bit faster, so when I overtook him, I just tried to focus on the next five laps and do the maximum that I could. Then I built the gap and was just managing throughout the race. But it was not easy; the last couple of months have not been easy for me."

Miguel had a stunning performance at a rain-drenched Pertamina Mandalika Circuit to claim victory for the first time since the 2021 Catalan GP. After two races in the 2022 season, Enea Bastianini ( winner of the 2022 Qatar Grand Prix) is still leading the World Championship standings.

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About the author: Silvian Irimia
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Silvian may be the youngest member of our team, being born in the 2000s, but you won't find someone more passionate than him when it comes to motorsport. An automotive engineer by trade, Silvian considers the Ferrari F50 his favorite car, with the original Lamborghini Countach a close second.
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