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By David Emmett<br />
At 24, Miguel Oliveira is the old<br />
man of the bunch. After being<br />
shuffled from team to team, he<br />
immediately made an impact<br />
once he signed up with Aki Ajo.<br />
He came close to snatching<br />
the 2015 Moto3 title from the<br />
grasp of Danny Kent, and after<br />
he moved up to Moto2, was the<br />
only rider to consistently take<br />
the fight to Bagnaia. The intelligence<br />
he is universally praised<br />
for is exemplified by the fact<br />
that he has managed to study<br />
to be a dentist at the same time<br />
as competing professionally in<br />
Grand Prix. His perseverance<br />
with the KTM Moto2 machine<br />
earned him a seat with the<br />
KTM’s new satellite team partner<br />
Tech3. Unfortunately for<br />
Oliveira, the KTM RC16 MotoGP<br />
bike is still a long way from<br />
being competitive. Luckily for<br />
KTM, Oliveira’s intelligence and<br />
thorough approach is exactly<br />
what is needed to help make<br />
the bike better.<br />
Fabio Quartararo is the youngest<br />
of the bunch, still just 19<br />
years of age. The young Frenchman<br />
– though he might as well<br />
be Spanish, having spent most<br />
of his childhood there – is either<br />
an enigma, or a salutary lesson<br />
in getting too much, too young.<br />
He was so good in the FIM<br />
CEV Moto3 championship that<br />
Dorna made a new rule allowing<br />
the winner of the Junior World<br />
Championship to race in Grand<br />
Prix, even if they are below the<br />
minimum age of 16. But after<br />
a few strong results early on,<br />
injury cut his first season short,<br />
and lingered into his second<br />
campaign in the class with<br />
an ill-fated move to the Leopard<br />
team. A difficult first year<br />
in Moto2 with Pons saw him<br />
switch to Speed Up for 2018, his<br />
second year, and show flashes<br />
of the brilliance that originally<br />
earned early passage into the<br />
GP paddock in 2015.<br />
With careful mentoring and in<br />
the right environment, Quartararo<br />
could be the surprise<br />
package of 2019. In the Sepang<br />
Racing Team, under the tutelage<br />
of Wilco Zeelenberg and rider<br />
coach Torleif Hartelman, he<br />
should find just that.
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