Source Name: Mahindra Racing

Oliveira Comes Through Again for Mahindra Racing

Aug 11, 2014   18:00 PM 
India

Mahindra rider Miguel Oliveira produced a trademark through-the-pack performance at Indianapolis today, forging through from 18th on the starting grid to join the battle with a big leading group, finally claiming seventh, only 1.3 seconds behind the winner.

 

It was a repeat of his earlier form – when he rode from 19th to fourth in Italy, and 13th to third at Assen. Once again, he picked off riders one or two at a time in the early laps to put himself into contention.

 

The Moto3™ race was the first of the day at the Indianapolis GP, run over 23 laps of the 4.17km infield circuit at the iconic Indy ‘Brickyard’ oval; and a typical thriller for the closest and most competitive class of the MotoGP series.

 

Towards the closing stages there were a pack of ten disputing the lead, with riders entering corners three or four abreast, scrapping to the finish line marked by the famous Yard of Bricks.

 

Portuguese teenager Oliveira – who combines the study of medicine with a fast-developing racing career – had steadily picked his way up from his mid-field start to join the group, and gain places within it. Oliveira’s combination of determination and skill combined with the technical prowess of the Mahindra MGP3O meant he finished far more strongly than he had qualified.

 

Ambrogio Racing’s Brad Binder, also riding a Mahindra, finished ninth, putting two of the only Indian machines in racing in the top ten.

 

Second Mahindra rider Arthur Sissis (19, from Australia) had a less satisfying weekend. He qualified 23rd and his own attempt to move forward was foiled by a collision with another rider, dropping him further and spoiling his pace. He finished 21st.

 

The Mahindra team is back in action next Sunday at the next race, the Czech Republic GP at Brno.

 

Miguel Oliveira – Seventh Place

“Qualifying was a bit hard – I was just a second off the fastest time, but it is so close in Moto3. The race was tough, but I was with another rider Alexis Masbou who had a very good pace, and I was able to go with him to catch the front group. The last laps were pretty hard, the tyres had gone and it was difficult to keep a fast pace. We made some setting changes in practice to improve the braking, and that helped me defend myself to the end.”

 

 

Arthur Sissis – 21st Place

“A bad race – though I got a good start. Then I was mixed up with a rider who I could pass in the back section then he would slipstream past on the straight again. So I tried to pass him into the first corner and I collided with him and lost a whole lot of positions.”

 

Mufaddal Choonia – CEO, Mahindra Racing

“Once again Miguel showed how he makes it possible to come from so far down the grid and finish almost in the top positions. I believe we really need to work hard on our qualifying performance. With the obvious pace of Miguel and the MGP3O we are missing opportunities of regular top-three podium results because of starting the races so far back. All the same, considering what Miguel did today, I’ll take seventh place.”

 

About Mahindra Racing:

Mahindra Racing became the first Indian team to participate in the FIM MotoGP™ World Motorcycle Racing Championship series in 2011 and the Italian National Motorcycle Racing Championship (CIV) in 2012.

 

In 2014, Mahindra is competing in its third year in the Moto3™ class of MotoGP with its own 4-stroke, 250cc motorcycle: the Mahindra MGP3O, developed with respected Swiss firm Suter Racing Technology AG. Exciting Portuguese teenager Miguel Oliveira (19) is partnered in the team by Australian rider Arthur Sissis (18).

 

Oliveira recorded Mahindra’s first podium of 2014 at the Dutch TT at Assen, while a customer Mahindra in the hands of South African Brad Binder finished second at the Sachsenring, a best ever result for the Indian motorcycle. The team’s history-making first ever podium came in 2013’s Malaysian Grand Prix. Mahindra Racing recorded top-five finishes in 10 of the 17 rounds of the World Championship as well as a pole position, three circuit lap records and third in the Constructors’ rankings for Mahindra.

 

In the competitive CIV Italian Championship, Mahindra Racing also enjoyed an impressive record having won the Constructors’ title in the 125 GP Class in 2012 and both the Constructors’ title and a one-two in the Riders’ championship in the Moto3 class in 2013.

 

Breaking new ground as an Indian constructor, Mahindra Racing is supplying three ‘customer teams’ in the 2014 Moto3™ World Championship. Ambrogio Racing, CIP Moto3 and San Carlo Team Italia are all campaigning MGP3O race bikes. In addition, Mahindra Racing is supplying the TMR Competicion team with two bikes to race in the FIM CEV Repsol International Championship that has become the feeder series for Grand Prix riders.

 

Mahindra’s bold decision to take on the world’s best at the highest level of motorcycle racing has won the team a number of prestigious awards in India, including: the NDTV Car and Bike Awards - 'Mobil 1 Motorsport Award of the Year', 2012 and 2013; the Bike India Magazine - 'Motorsport Award', 2013; and 'ZigWheels Motorsport Award of the Year', 2012.

For further information please visit: www.mahindraracing.com.

 

About Mahindra:

The Mahindra Group focuses on enabling people to rise through solutions that power mobility, drive rural prosperity, enhance urban lifestyles and increase business efficiency.

 

A USD 16.5 billion multinational group based in Mumbai, India, Mahindra employs more than 180,000 people in over 100 countries. Mahindra operates in the key industries that drive economic growth, enjoying a leadership position in tractors, utility vehicles, information technology, financial services and vacation ownership. In addition, Mahindra enjoys a strong presence in the agribusiness, aerospace, components, consulting services, defence, energy, industrial equipment, logistics, real estate, retail, steel, commercial vehicles and two wheeler industries.

 

In 2014, Mahindra featured on the Forbes Global 2000, a comprehensive listing of the world’s largest, most powerful public companies, as measured by revenue, profit, assets and market value. The Mahindra Group also received the Financial Times ‘Boldness in Business’ Award in the ‘Emerging Markets’ category in 2013.

Visit us at www.mahindra.com.