Friday

Philipp Oettl in the top 10 on day one

First day in Montmelò, bad weather spared WorldSBK giving (almost) a full day of sunny action. The riders were able to complete the planned work, taking as much information as possible in view of the races.

In FP 1 Philipp immediately became familiar with the Catalan track, finding a good feeling with his Ducati V4-R. In the first few steps he showed a clean riding, which gave him the Top 8 until the middle of the session. The Go Eleven Team completed the work with used tyres, not using the soft on the final, like some riders did, which generated large, but not entirely truthful gaps. The race pace shown seemed good when compared with the opponents, being at ease even after some changes made on the rear.

Free Practice 1: 
P 1   I. Lecuona   1.41.396
P 2   M. Rinaldi   + 0.535
P 3   T. Razgatlioglu   + 0.595
…
P 12   P. Oettl   + 1.622

In FP 2 the German rookie tested a pair of new tyres, with different compounds than in the morning. Although the feeling was good again, and the best lap arrived at the end of the stint, he missed a few tenths on the fastest lap. At the second exit, he managed to drop below 43.0, despite a not perfect first sector, which was then counterbalanced by a very effective last part of the track, in line with the top 5. Overall, the behavior of the bike is in line with what was requested by Oettl, and the tyre drop looks pretty good. Philipp has not yet tried the SCQ, which here in Barcelona seems to provide strong extra grip, and if the weather holds up, he will be able to test it tomorrow morning. In the event of a dry race, the goal of fighting in the Top Ten seems realistic.

Free Practice 2:
P 1   A. Bautista   1.42.018
P 2   J. Rea   + 0.040
P 3   A. Locatelli   + 0.067
…
P 10   P. Oettl   + 0.805

Philipp Oettl: 
“I think today it was a positive day, I did many fast laps in a row, but I think it will be also possible to improve tomorrow. We will see in which conditions we will have to race, if dry or wet, but our base is good by now. Riding with the others I found out how to be faster in some areas, especially in sector 4, changing the line compared to what I did in the test and this morning. I am quite optimistic for the next days here in Barcelona!”

Saturday

A DNF in race one due to a technical fault

The first day of racing from the Barcelona circuit turned out to be tough for Team Go Eleven and the rider Philipp Oettl. Despite a good qualifying and an excellent work on the race pace, on the first lap any chance of a result went out to a technical problem.

The Montmelò FP 3s were almost aborted by all the riders, as the rain that fell during the night wet the track, but the water on the track was too little for the rain tyres to provide the right feedback. Philipp preferred to get on the track and make some laps in wet conditions, but without taking any particular risks, since  the session wasn’t useful for the final result of the weekend.

Free Practice 3: 
P 1   L. Baz   1.52.973
P 2   A. Bautista   + 1.540
P 3   T. Razgatlioglu   + 1.656
…
P 6   P. Oettl   + 4.040

The Superpole was held in rather difficult conditions, just before the green light, a light drizzle fell on the Catalan track, without wetting the asphalt. All inside with slicks, Philipp has good sensations and fights for the Top Ten. At the second time attack all the riders improve significantly, the German rookie shows off two excellent first sectors, then in the last two he had a big drop in the rear tyre, so much so that he loses those two tenths that costs him the third row. He conquers the twelfth position, about a second from the top, a good starting position for the races.

Superpole:
P 1   I. Lecuona   1.40.766
P 2   A. Lowes   + 0.023
P 3   J. Rea   + 0.217
…
P 12   P. Oettl   + 1.262

Race 1 for the Go Eleven team lasts just a few seconds; on the first lap, after an excellent start, Philipp find himself in eighth position at the first corner, then he is forced to abandon the fight due to a technical problem. Once the bike returned to the pits, the DNF was probably caused by debris that entered the chain links, breaking the chain. Race over, the regret is great because today there was a chance to take good points, but fortunately there are still two races tomorrow!

Race 1: 
P 1   A. Bautista   34’21.395
P 2   J. Rea   + 8.665
P 3   G. Gerloff   + 9.289
…
DNF   P. Oettl

Philipp Oettl:
“Qualifying was positive today, I took the first four rows, which was my goal here. The start then was good, but I could have been a bit better in defending my positions in the first corner. For tomorrow I learned a little bit, but today after nine corners our race was over, cause we broke our chain. Maybe it was due to a debris or something similar. That’s a pity because today was really important to understand tyre management in view of tomorrow races. Luckily we will have two race tomorrow, so we just have to wait and give everything in the two next races! Anyway something like this can happen in our sport, we will be ready tomorrow!”

Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager): 
“I don’t believe in bad luck but we certainly can’t say that we are lucky this year. We were very motivated for today’s race, because on this track we knew that tyre drop would have decided the result, so we were prepared and during practice we had very good consumption, lower than the average and in line with the riders who finished in the top 5. Philipp also had a strong start, but …. we couldn’t even finish the first lap. It was a pity, but the beauty of Superbike is that tomorrow we have two more possibilities! ”

Sunday

Philipp and Team Go Eleven achieve their season’s best ever results

Great final day at Montmelò for Team Go Eleven; Philipp Oettl gets the best result of the season in Superpole Race, then concluding Race 2 in seventh position. It is really difficult to ask more today from the German rider, who redeems yesterday’s unlucky day!

Since the Warm Up, the number 5 seemed strong. Having entered the track with the SCX, he improved lap after lap stopping the clock just fourth tenth from his qualifying time. Upon returning to the pits, Philipp was immediately satisfied and charged up in view of the two races.

Warm Up: 
P 1   A. Bautista   1.41.747
P 2   A. Lowes   + 0.045
P 3   G. Gerloff   + 0.421
…
P 7   P. Oettl   + 0.737

In Superpole Race Philipp starts very fast again, then he looses a couple of positions in the first two corners. From the first lap he starts coming back for the Top 9 which is important to improve the grid for Race 2. A good fight is open with Redding, then Philipp manages to open a two tenths gap, closing on Vierge; towards the middle of the race he shows a strong braking in Turn 1, remains well close to the kerb, and makes a great overtaking on the HRC home rider. In the final laps he manages his position well, even catching up on Rinaldi. He reduces the gap from the Italian by about two seconds, but finishes behind him in P 6. Best result of the season, Best independent rider, and best race of the German so far in this 2022, really aggressive and fast even in one on one fights. The sixth position of the Sp Race is very important, as it allows Team Go Eleven to start from the second row in Race 2.

Superpole Race:
P 1   A. Bautista  16’59.889
P 2   J. Rea   + 1.185
P 3   A. Lowes   + 1.377
…
P 6   P. Oettl   + 10.506

In Race 2 Oettl shows off a great start that places him fifth at the first corner; in the first two laps he undergoes some overtakings, with the aim of saving tyre. Remember that he wasn’t able to complete yesterday’s Race, both the technicians and the rider did not have the references for the final laps, which yesterday put the WorldSBK riders in troubles. The number 5 rookie sets his pace on the high 42/43, always staying in contact with the top six, but without attacking. From the middle of the race onwards, tyre management starts to give feedbacks; Lecuona slows his pace slightly and Oettl overtakes him with a super braking in Turn 1, the German rider’s strong point in today’s two races. He sets off in pursuit of Vierge, but the rear tyre no longer holds up. In the last four laps he manages the position, picks up his pace, and takes home an incredible seventh position.

Race 2: 
P 1   A. Bautista   34’15.354
P 2   Mi. Rinaldi   + 8.103
P 3   T. Razgatlioglu   + 9.090
…
P 7   P. Oettl   + 33.622

An excellent Sunday for the Go Eleven team, which has achieved the maximum possible, at the moment, in all today’s races, winning many points that give happiness for the season finale. Finally, the starts also seem decidedly improved, and after the summer break Philipp has taken a further step forward that shows him almost permanently in the top ten. Two weeks and he is back in action in Portimao, where the show is guaranteed!

Philipp Oettl:
“Today in the Warm Up I felt really good, in the Superpole Race I had a strong start and I manage to battle with Scott and Xavi Vierge, than I finished in P 6, which was our Best result of the season, and it was nice to start from the first two rows. The start in Race 2 was fantastic, then I was in a good group fighting for P 6, then in the end we finished P 7. It was a pity that yesterday we couldn’t finish Race 1, cause this would have given us more infos about tyre management. Overall I am really happy with the weekend, we confirmed the work we did in Magny-Cours, we are in a good shape and I am happy with this way of working. I am looking forward to Portimao, we had our first test there, so that would be nice to be back after a bit of time!”

Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager): 
“Today Philipp gave us fun! In the Superpole Race he surprised us, he attacked the whole race and his braking in corner one was crucial to conquer positions after positions, there he was really strong, and I missed the feeling when starting from the second row! Race 2, we knew we had a gap compared to our opponents because yesterday we practically did not race Race 1, so we lacked a bit of experience compared to the others, which in a track with such a tyre drop is fundamental, both for management by the rider, both for the set-up by the team. Philipp was very good because at the start he went off super fast and was able to manage without opening a big gap from the group fighting for the second place. Only at the end he gave up, he remained alone and the rear tyre had no more. I would say a very positive day, and analyzing the last weekends we are getting closer and closer to the podium… We are coming!”