Phillip Oettl to race for Team Go Eleven in 2023

Philipp Oettl and Team Go Eleven confirm the agreement for the 2023 season, riding the Ducati V4-RS!

The German rider and the Italian team will continue their project in WorldSBK together, with the aim of realizing and improving the good performances shown in the debut year. The harmony within the Team is amazing, Philipp has achieved a seventh place as the best result so far, in a season also conditioned by the injury suffered at Estoril. Physically back to 100%, Oettl has resumed his growth path showing improvements session after session, even on totally new tracks. His attitude is truly a great professional, he works methodically to study the areas on which to improve and the potential is really high. In his debut year it was difficult to ask and expect more, but the fact that he is always fighting with the factory bikes and more experienced riders shows that he has the talent to aim high. We can’t wait to start a new season with all the references from the previous year!

Philipp Oettl (Rider): 
“I am excited about another year with the Team Go Eleven! We matched very well, and after Assen we were already quite close to the front group. We had some misfortunes during the year so far, I am happy that the Team wants to continue with me. This season is and will be all about learning, sometimes we can do steps forward and sometimes steps back, but it’s part of the growing process. We know we have a good potential, so I am super happy to be with them one year more!”

Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager):
“I believe it is the natural continuation of a path that we have started together at the end of 2021 and it is exciting to carry on this project in which we believe even more, precisely because we have had the opportunity to work with Philipp and appreciate him both professionally and personally. He has enormous potential and I am very happy to work with him, there is a special feeling between him and the whole team and we have important goals that unite us. So full speed ahead, now the motivation is very high, we have to have fun!”

Friday

Philipp shows constant progress, but the feeling is not the best yet

Friday at Autodrom Most turned out to be more complicated than expected for Philipp Oettl and Team Go Eleven; despite a good eleventh final position, the feeling is still not great, and the V4-RS was nervous and aggressive. The best lap on the 32 confirms however that Philipp manages to get the best even if the bike is not firm and stable as the German rider would like.

The FP 1s are always used to become familiar with the track and the bike, setting a basic set-up to work on. Here, too, in the Czech Republic, Go Eleven has focused on working with used tyres, almost finished, so as to be able to use more tyres in the days to come. In 23 completed laps Philipp showed consistency, being fast in all sectors; the classification as always is just provisional because several riders used a new tyre on the final minutes, improving the laptimes.

Free Practice 1:
P 1   J. Rea    1.31.893
P 2   T. Razgatlioglu   + 0.035
P 3   G. Gerloff   + 0.456
…
P 14   P. Oettl   + 1. 799

In the afternoon session Philipp was immediately able to get on track with the new rear solution brought here by Pirelli; he immediately improved several tenths to get inside the Top Ten, but the white-blue-black V4-RS seemed a bit too nervous and difficult to ride, especially in the third sector. The times, however, were fast even after a few laps, which is good in case of a dry race. In the last five minutes, the Piedmontese team put on a new set of Pirelli, combined with a new rear shock solution, Philipp lowered immediately on the first flying lap, dropping below 33, but then found some traffic due to slower riders, thus not being able to take advantage of the second lap.

Free Practice 2: 
P 1   T. Razgatlioglu   1.31.506
P 2   S. Redding   + 0.227
P 3   M. Rinaldi   + 0.314
…
P 11   P. Oettl    + 1.391

For tomorrow it will be essential to work on the set-up, study the data collected today, and create a slightly more calm bike, which allows to be ridden for the 22 laps of the race without too much difficulty. However, the room for improvement is large, so much so that Philipp’s best lap came in a lap in which the rider himself thought he had made many mistakes. On Saturday in Most, however, according to forecasts, the rain should fall abundantly and we could assist to one of the first real wet races of the year. Philipp’s potential in the event of a Wet Race? We will evaluate it tomorrow, perhaps, since the number 5 at Estoril, the only rainy day of the 2022 season so far, was forced to raise the white flag following a broken collarbone on Friday!

Philipp Oettl (Rider): 
“The first day here it was not so bad, I am not unhappy, cause even if we have quite some problems with the set-up, I feel I can improve even better. The position is also not so bad, we improved a bit in the afternoon. For tomorrow I think we have to find some new solutions, there are areas in which both me and the bike can improve compared to the other rider. I am struggling a bit, cause on this circuit the Ducati is like a Beast, quite difficult to ride. Together with the Team I am sure we can find the problem. Probably tomorrow can rain, that would be my first time on wet since Barcelona test!”

Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager):
“This first day is quite positive, because we are in line with Philipp’s latest performances. In the first sector the asphalt is new and the times were immediately much faster than last year. Philipp’s feeling was a bit particular because he feels the bike nervous, but we have already identified some points on which to improve. I think we have the margin to make a good leap forward on the race pace, we are two or three tenths to stay comfortably inside the Top Ten. Tomorrow however it could rain and in that case all the cards will be reshuffled!”

Saturday

Philipp Oettl shows good pace after a tough qualifying

A really complicated “tricky” Saturday in Most! Weather conditions affected performance on the track, often forcing riders to trust the nearly dry asphalt despite light rain. Philipp, after starting the day showing a great pace on a wet track, was unable to exploit his potential in Superpole, complaining that the set-up was still not perfect. In the race then, after a straight into turn 1, he came back up to finish thirteenth in a good race, proving to be confident and fast in the wettest laps.

FP 3 took place on wet asphalt with some dry lines, especially in the second sector. All in with the Rain, however, to gain confidence in view of Superpole and Race 1. Philipp was really comfortable in mixed conditions, improving lap by lap and finishing in fourth place. A clear step forward compared to the last time in the wet, in the Barcelona tests, where he lacked a bit of feeling.

Free Practice 3:
P 1   A. Bautista    1.46.090
P 2   A. Bassani   + 0.852
P 3   I. Lecuona   + 1.353
P 4   P. Oettl   + 2.038

In Superpole the German rider was unable to get a good placement, due to a difficult bike to ride, still not significantly improved compared to the problems he complained about after FP. Even the most complicated sessions are sometimes needed; for the race an important change of set-up would have been needed, to help him in riding for 22 laps. Sixteenth position on the grid, as often happens, starting this way back complicates the whole race, especially here in Most where the first corner is very slow and contacts could always happen.

Superpole: 
P 1   J. Rea   1.30.947
P 2   T. Razgatlioglu   + 0.330
P 3   M. Rinaldi   + 0.559
…
P 16   P. Oettl    + 1.554

For the race, the Team, in agreement with the rider, decided to make an important change on the set-up, working on heights and geometries, which would have generated a different feeling than the way taken up to here. At the first corner Philipp is forced to cut the chicane, tight on the outside, then re-enters a position similar to the one he started from. In the first two laps he proves to be very aggressive, immediately recovering three positions, and putting himself in pursuit of Bernardi and Mahias. Towards the middle of the race it begins to rain, wetting the track a little, but not so much as to require a change to rain tyres. Precisely with wet asphalt, the number 5 sets two very fast laps, being one of the three fastest rider on the track, but also making a mistake at Turn 6 which forces him to take an excursion on the gravel. Back on track, he recovers Bernardi, passes him, finishing behind Mahias. Thirteenth position, a decent result compared to qualifying, but more importantly, Oettl got off the bike happy with the sensations found on the track. For tomorrow it will be necessary to take a small step to remove a few tenths, then it will be possible to fight for the Top Ten.

Race 1: 
P 1   A. Bautista   34’00.965
P 2   T. Razgatlioglu   + 2.109
P 3   S. Redding   + 2.603
…
P 13   P. Oettl    + 27.364

With today’s victory, signed by Alvaro Bautista, Ducati took the podium number one thousand in WorldSBK. Congratulations to the entire Ducati racing department for the achievement, no other manufacturer is at the same level in Superbike, and Go Eleven is proud to have contributed to you with six podiums in the last three years!

Philipp Oettl (Rider): 
“I am happy cause we made a big improvement with the bike in the Race. Now we have to adapt a bit the electronic, but I think we can solve for tomorrow races. This morning in qualifying I was not happy with my Ducati, as the bike didn’t change from yesterday, but then we went in the right direction. The position is not so bad, but tomorrow we can do better!”

Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager):
“We knew it would be a complicated race because after qualifying we had some problems that didn’t allow us to be fast, but I’m very happy with the team’s work because they had the courage to take risks by going to the race with a completely different setting, and this choice has paid, he also showed us the right path for tomorrow. Now we continue to work aiming for the Top Ten in tomorrow’s race!”

Sunday

Second best result of the season for Philipp Oettl in race 2 at WorldSBK Most

A sweet ending for Philipp Oettl in the weekend in Most; eighth place in Race 2, Top Ten target done and a nice improvement on the final day of Round 06, the result of Philipp’s work on himself and the improvements of the Go Eleven branded V4-RS.

In the Warm Up the Italian team tested the softer solution, the SCX, for the distance of ten laps, to understand if it could be a solution that could be used in the Superpole Race. Unfortunately, with the softer solution the bike tended to move a lot, and after only three laps the drop was sharp and decisive. Difficult to use for the Ducati Go Eleven even in the “short” race.

Warm Up:
P 1   M. Rinaldi    1.31.650
P 2   J. Rea   + 0.062
P 3   T. Razgatlioglu   + 0.361
…
P 12   P. Oettl   + 1.575

In the Superpole Race the technicians, in agreement with Philipp, opt for the SC0; many risk the SCX, but in reality there was not a much better choice than the other. Philipp was forced to cut the chicane in Turn 1, as it was closed on the outside, coming back on track close to the Top Ten; the battle with the opponents of this round immediately ignited, Mahias, Bernardi and Vierge. Towards the end of the race the group fighting for ninth position, the only valid one to enter the grid inversion, regroups, but the German rookie is unable to enter the battle before the checkered flag. Thirteenth position, but a much faster and more concrete race than yesterday.

Superpole Race: 
P 1   T. Razgatlioglu   15’21.996
P 2   J. Rea   + 2.327
P 3   A. Bautista   + 3.406
…
P 13   P. Oettl    + 15.271

In Race 2 Philipp is starting inside, from fifteenth position due to the forfait of Alex Lowes, suffering from an intestinal infection. He starts well, then at the first corner he manages to defend his space, already overtaking an opponent. At the end of the second lap he is thirteenth, and sets out in pursuit of Baz, Mahias and Vierge. Baz crashes, Mahias is overtakes in T 1 a few laps ahead, but Vierge now has a bit of gap to close. From the middle of the race onwards Oettl maintains a good pace, enough to recover almost a second to the Spaniard on Honda, and take space from the riders behind. In the final Gerloff and Lecuona were forced to retire due to tyre problems, so the German rider finished eighth at the end of a very good race. Second best result of the season, positive Top Ten conquered!

Race 2: 
P 1   T. Razgatlioglu   33’55.494
P 2   A. Bautista  + 0.756
P 3   J. Rea   + 2.833
…
P 8   P. Oettl    + 26.436

Mid-season completed, WorldSBK now faces a summer break of around five weeks, before returning to the track at the historic Magny-Cours track! A positive first part for the Go Eleven rider, already able of achieving two Top Ten in his debut year, also quickly recovering the feeling after breaking his collarbone. Let’s see what awaits us from September onwards, when the 2022 season ignites!

Philipp Oettl (Rider): 
“Today it was a really interesting day, in the Warm Up we tried the SCX tyre, but it didn’t work. In Superpole Race we choose the SC0, then we tried to improve for Race 2 and we managed it quite well. The start was way way better, I think now I understood how to start. I am happy with the progresses we made through the weekend, cause we took the right direction. We had our second best result of the season, now we can start the summer break, collect all the data and see where we can improve. I have already planned some test day with my training bike to get ready for second part of the season!”

Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager):
“I’m happy with today’s race and the progression we had over the weekend, Philipp and the team were able to find the right way to improve performance after some complicated free practice sessions, and in race two we were 5 seconds faster than race 1 , the eighth place is a nice confirmation that sends us on vacation aware of being consistent and having what it takes to go even faster. I want to thank the whole team for the commitment and the great work they are doing, race after race we try to adapt our Ducati more and more to Philipp’s style!”