After becoming world champion, Pecco Bagnaia began to guess how the competition map and who to watch out for in the upcoming 2023 MotoGP.
All riders should certainly not be underestimated and must be watched out for, but who is the rider Pecco Bagnaia is most wary of in MotoGP 2023?
As quoted from GridOto.com, swho would have thought it was not Marc Marquez or Fabio Quartararo who Pecco Bagnaia was most wary of in MotoGP 2023.
Not even his new partner in the factory Ducati team, Enea Bastianini, who in the 2022 season was outstanding despite only wearing the Gresini Racing satellite team uniform.
That rider is instead the winner of the 2022 Mandalika MotoGP, Miguel Oliveira.
"I think the rivals to watch out for are as usual, like the last two seasons," Bagnaia said as quoted by La Gazzetta dello Sport.
"But I want to mention one name in particular, he is Miguel Oliveira," said the 2022 MotoGP champion.
This statement is quite unique because Oliveira's performance was actually not too special in the 2022 season despite winning at Mandalika.
Moreover, the Portuguese rider will use a different bike than before because he joined the RNF Aprilia team.
However, Valentino Rossi's student thinks Oliveira will surprise everyone in MotoGP 2023.
"I think he is a very fast rider and he will be an outsider, putting himself into the list of the toughest rivals to beat," he explained.
Pecco's words are not without reason.
The Italian has a long history with Oliveira in previous classes.
Oliveira has been a fierce rival since junior racing, even coming close to preventing Pecco from becoming Moto2 world champion in 2018.
According to Pecco, the Aprilia bike is also very good and will suit Oliveira's style.
"Aprilia has grown a lot last season, I think 2023 will be even stronger," he explained.
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