Top 6 at the end of the only dry session in Jerez

The heavy rain of yesterday left wet patches until the early afternoon of Friday; FP 1 was completely useless, with not even one lap completed, while in FP 2 all the riders were able to evaluate the two race configurations. One of the best Day-1s of the whole season, just a few tenths from the top!

Free Practice 1: No times set

FP 2, the only session of the day raced by the WorldSBK protagonists, saw all the teams working from a race perspective, testing the two tyre solutions that provide greater performance; the softer SCX and the B800 for long distance. Philipp entered the top positions right from the start of the session, showing great speed in the first and third sectors, practically losing a good part of the gap in turn 5. The feeling and confidence with the Panigale V4-R seem really excellent on this Friday, so much so that rider number 5 provided precise feedbacks of the areas to improve. Overall a positive day, which needs to be reconfirmed tomorrow on.

Free Practice 2:  
P 1    T. Razgatlioglu     1.40.312
P 2    R. Gardner   + 0.244
P 3    A. Bautista     + 0.320
…
P 6   P. Oettl   + 0.546

Philipp Oettl (Rider):

“Today it was a strange day, FP 1 wasn’t useful for the weekend cause the forecasts says it will be sunny and we saved some tyre from the allocation. In the afternoon, we found a lot of interesting things. It’s just my second time here with the Superbike, I am happy with the results and feelings. P 6 is really good, let’s see what we can do tomorrow, we still have some areas to improve, but I am confident. I think I gave the team the right feedbacks after the practice. In sector two I lost most of the time; it’ s only turn 5, but there were some big wet patches, so it was better not risk too much. Checking the data I will analyze if there is something to improve there, too.”

Philipp celebrates one lap too early but still finishes in P6

A perfect Saturday, excellent Superpole, spectacular race with lots of overtaking between Rinaldi, Bassani, Petrucci, Lowes and Philipp, on the last lap the Go Eleven rider seems to be able to defend the Best independent… but he celebrates with a lap early, thinking the race was over, Danilo passes, Philipp realizes “the mistake”, but it’s too late. Anger and a hint of disappointment, yes, but hats off to the performance on the track.

In FP 3 the session was split into two outs: the first with the race tyre, the second for the time attack. Philipp settles inside the Top Ten, then in the all-or-nothing lap he finds some traffic, failing to enter the top five positions. Feeling with the bike and confidence in the potential don’t seem to be lacking here in Jerez.

Free Practice 3: 
P 1   A. Bautista   1.39.638
P 2   D. Aegerter   + 0.233
P 3   S. Redding   + 0.455
…
P 8   P. Oettl    + 0.879

Superpole, the session that Philipp suffered the most of the year, on the Andalusian circuit, proved to be extremely positive. Sixth place on the grid, second row and best qualifying since Phillip Island, once again showcasing an incredible first sector. The hugs to number 5 upon returning to the pits, almost with teary eyes, demonstrate the good result obtained and the awareness of being able to achieve something important in the Race.

Superpole:  
P 1    A. Bautista    1.38.635
P 2    D. Aegerter   + 0.210
P 3    A. Lowes   + 0.270
…
P 6   P. Oettl   + 0.456

Race 1, definitely the most exciting and full of suspense of the whole 2023. Philipp starts and immediately ignites the battle with Bassani and Rinaldi. Having freed himself of both, he has a slightly faster pace, enough to create a slight gap. Petrucci comes back from behind and chases Philipp, starting a duel lasting about 10 laps. The two Ducati riders, despite the battle, recover and overtake Alex Lowes, arriving close to the podium. After at least three or four overtakes, the number 5 seems to be able to defend fifth place and take home the first Best Independent of the season. Penultimate lap, Philipp celebrates at the finish line thinking that the race is over, but there is still one lap left; Petrucci passes, Oettl realizes the mistake and finishes the race sixth. Losing like this really hurts, despite the applause-worthy performance, but seeing the rider apologize to everyone and almost in tears shows how much he is really looking to get the most out of this last round.

Race 1:  
P 1    A. Bautista    33’44.752
P 2    T. Razgatlioglu    + 1.195
P 3    A. Locatelli   + 9.071
…
P 6    P. Oettl   + 11.538

Honorable mention and congratulations to Aruba.it Ducati team, to all of Ducati Corse and to Alvaro Bautista for the second consecutive WorldSBK championship. Race victory and title on this Saturday in Jerez at the end of an incredible season, in which the Spanish rider’s work group raised the bar session after session, proving itself as a point of reference for all the other protagonists.

Philipp Oettl (Rider):

“It’s difficult for me to analyze our day after the last lap of Race 1! I had a really positive Superpole, starting from the first two rows change the life, then a good start in the Race, too. I went a little bit wide in turn 6, but our pace was incredibly fast. I am happy with the race, just the end was really frustrating. Petrucci could easily pass me cause I thought the race was over when there was still one lap to go. We will try tomorrow again, it was a solid P 6, we did a good job all the weekend. I want to have one more time fun with the Team, I will give my best to finish the season in a good way!”

Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager):

“Too bad, too bad about the mistake, but this is perhaps Philipp’s best weekend of the season. Two seconds from the podium, a constant pace throughout the race, showing some clean and exciting overtakes. He defended himself very well against an expert rider like Petrucci, also managing to get through the first steps well. Celebrating a lap early is perhaps the worst way to lose a result, but on motorbikes it happens sometimes and there’s little you can do about it. Tomorrow I hope that Philipp will be able to bring home the long-awaited result!”

A sweet finale for Philipp Oettl and Team Go Eleven with 2 P7 for their last dance

On the last day of Jerez, emotions left space to the track and the difficulty of facing the end of a story, giving two excellent races, with Philipp Oettl always fighting for the Top 5 or just close, giving 100% in the last two exits on the Ducati Panigale V4-R of Team Go Eleven. Superpole Race and Race 2, both finished in P7, with a very small gap from the podium.

The day begins with the aim of choosing the correct tyre for the Superpole Race; Philipp tests the SCX, but it doesn’t seem to give a big advantage in the first laps, other riders, however, evaluate the Q, which becomes the best option, remaining constant for all the scheduled ten laps.

Warm Up: 
P 1   T. Razgatlioglu   1.39.765
P 2   D. Petrucci   + 0.125
P 3   D. Aegerter    + 0.430
…
P 11   P. Oettl   + 0.910

The Superpole Race, as usual, turns out to be very chaotic and full of plot twists. Philipp start wasn’t so good, then the Red Flag generated by Aegerter’s failure allows everyone to restart from the Starting Grid positions; light rain just as they entered the track, but luckily it didn’t affect the protagonists too much. This time Oettl defends well in the first laps, then goes after Scott Redding and Gardner; the former is forced to retire, while the Australian manages to maintain a small gap until the checkered flag. Seventh position, one row lost but the good performance and great confidence for the long race remains.

Superpole Race:  
P 1    A. Bautista    13’25.903
P 2    D. Aegerter   + 1.487
P 3    J. Rea  + 3.124
…
P 7   P. Oettl   + 6.572

In Race 2 the German rider lost a couple of positions at the start, finishing behind Michael van der Mark and Bassani. He firstly overtakes the Italian with a nice braking move into turn 5, a few laps later he does the same on the Dutchman from BMW. With a clear track he shows a pace of 40 and a half, which allows him to close the two second gap accumulated by the Locatelli-Redding duo. Once reached, he wait a couple of laps, then at the end he changes gear and attacks both. He overtakes cleanly and precisely, leaving no room for crossings, thus gaining seventh final position. The gap to first place is 8 seconds, one of the closest of the whole championship.

Race 2:  
P 1    A. Bautista    33’42.679
P 2    T. Razgatlioglu   + 0.018 (P)
P 3    D. Aegerter   + 0.321
…
P 7  P. Oettl   + 7.991

The journey of Team Go Eleven with Philipp Oettl ends with the last race of 2023; two exciting years, full of ups and downs in terms of results, but always faced with a smile and full collaboration. We thank him and his working group with the hope that he obtains the results he aspires to in the future.

THANK YOU PIPPO!

Philipp Oettl (Rider):

“I am happy with the two races today! I made some really nice overtakes on my way from P 9 to P 7. In the beginning I just didn’t have the pace to be more in front. The Superpole Race was important for us, we had a good tyre choice even after the Red Flag. Last weeks have been quite difficult, but at the end we had some good results. I am really grateful for the two years we made together Jerez was a good end for our story. I am looking forward to whatever will come, I thank everybody inside the Team!”

Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager):

“Today was Philipp’s day, and he had two really solid races, with determination and coming back after two difficult starts. In Race two he managed the tyre very well, winning the sprint in his group. Maybe we were missing a bit of pace from the beginning, but it would have been difficult to do better. I want to thank Philipp, his father Peter, our whole team for this WorldSBK season. We had ups and downs, but we always had fun and the time together flew by. Especially since summer on, both Philipp and we were able to showcase our potential and achieve the results we hoped for at the beginning of the year. I wish Oettl all the best for the future, he deserves to achieve great results!”