After six years of riding V4-powered engines with KTM and Aprilia, Miguel Oliveira made his debut with Pramac Yamaha during the Barcelona test.

Fresh off securing a world title with Jorge Martin and Ducati, Pramac wasted no time transitioning into their new Yamaha chapter, featuring Oliveira and Jack Miller.

Oliveira, whose best result this season was third place in the Sachsenring Sprint, completed 60 laps on the factory-spec Yamaha M1.

“It was very, very different from what I was used to, for sure,” Oliveira said.

“Especially in the braking phase—it’s super different. But I have to say it’s also a bike that, right away, feels very rider-friendly. It gives you good feedback to let you know where the wheels are, and that’s super important.”

However, Oliveira stated that the fastest bike isn’t always the most comfortable to ride.

“We’re not really looking for comfort or a bike that’s just rider-friendly; we’re looking for speed. And I think we’re going to get an opportunity to work on that for sure,” he explained.

Oliveira’s best lap time placed him 17th.

“It was just a solid setup day, I would say,” Oliveira reflected.

“We had many Yamaha engineers in the garage helping the team with a smooth transition to the new bike, software, and everything else. I also clicked very well with my new crew chief and data engineer. We’ll make more steps forward during the winter tests.”

When asked what area he would like to improve most, Oliveira pointed to braking, particularly the bike’s stability during deceleration.

While Yamaha is developing a new V4 engine, Oliveira avoided drawing detailed comparisons between the V4 engines he’s ridden in his career and Yamaha’s current inline-4.

“The engine has positives, and there are some areas that need improvement,” he commented.

Jack Miller, who is unable to speak to the media due to his KTM contract, finished 22nd fastest.