Friday – Tough start for Team Go Eleven

Really tough Friday on the Barcelona track! Unexpected difficulties since the morning, a lack of grip that creates more than a few headaches for the Ducati Go Eleven, without finding, so far, an important solution. Certainly, on the Catalunya circuit, we expected a different day, both in terms of gap and feeling. But it’s only Friday, and there’s still plenty of time to improve and rebuild a good performance.

FP1 took place in almost perfect conditions, 20 degrees in the air, warm sun that welcomed all the WorldSBK protagonists. Philipp entered on the rear SC0, trying to gain confidence and find a good set-up to work on over the weekend. Right from the start he complained about a big lack of grip, which generated excessive rear sliding; Montmelò is a very particular track from this point of view, every year it throws the riders into a crisis both in terms of race management and set-up. Already in the morning it was possible to understand that the big difference will be made at the end of the race, by managing the drop of the tyres well. At the end of the morning session, a new rear tyre solution was tested, which did not provide a huge difference in terms of performance.

Free Practice 1: 
P 1   M. Rinaldi   1.41.633
P 2   J. Rea   + 0.019
P 3    T. Razgatlioglu   + 0.088
…
P 15   P. Oettl   + 1.725

For FP 2, the Team tried to make some changes to the balance of the bike, working on the rear shock, swingarm and heights. In the first stint he completed the tyres used in FP 1, then in the final stages the time attack meant an improvement in performance, but without being able to make an impact. Lap time is still too high compared to our reference group, it will be essential to work well in the evening to find some new solution to be evaluated tomorrow. Even more with the high temperatures, the second half of the race will prove be critical. Still to understand the best compound over the long distance. To move up the rankings, the only way is to work, to analyze well the data we have collected, remaining focused and determined.

Free Practice 2:  
P 1    A. Bautista    1.41.486
P 2    M. Rinaldi   + 0.350
P 3    J. Rea    + 0.529
…
P 16   P. Oettl   + 1.948

Philipp Oettl (Rider):

“Today it’s a difficult day for us, I think the others have a small advantage due to the recent tests here, at Montmelò, but we have room for improvement. We keep working, to achieve a good solution for tomorrow, the drop of the tyre will be really important tomorrow and on Sunday. I think we made a small step forward in the FP 2, but now we have to do another one in the right direction!”

Saturday – Scored points but suffering with the rear drop

The difficulties have not yet passed, but at the end of Saturday Go Eleven conquers four points that move the World Championship standings and give confidence for tomorrow’s races. The gap is wide compared to the Top Ten, but today there was a step forward in terms of feeling and riding.

The day started in the wrong way, in FP 3 Philipp didn’t feel the bike in his hands, despite the fact that the gap with the race tyre was decidedly smaller than on Friday. At the end, when everyone used the Q, the German rider was unable to make the most of it, only adjusting his Best Lap. An attempt to try in any case to prepare for Superpole.

Free Practice 3: 
P 1   A. Bautista   1.40.573
P 2   A. Locatelli    + 0.967
P 3   M. Rinaldi    + 1.015
…
P 15   P. Oettl   + 2.276

Superpole was a very hectic session, interrupted by a red flag following the crash of Lowes in turn 14. In the first Run he managed to lower the reference by about a second compared to the morning, dropping below 42, then with the second tyre it was not possible to improve, due to the forced interruption of the session. Here in Barcelona it is difficult to improve with the slightly used tyre. In any case, fifteenth position on the grid, and a race to be faced as a comeback.

Superpole:  
P 1    A. Bautista    1.40.264
P 2    D. Aegerter   + 0.473
P 3    J. Rea    + 0.497
…
P 15   P. Oettl   + 1.701

In Race 1 we finally saw some light, after a tough weekend. First start interrupted after the accident involving Granado, second start with a new rear tyre, in which Philipp was able to better fight in the traffic on the first lap, only to then get into a close battle with Baz. Several laps behind the Frenchman, who was then overtaken at the middle of the race. In the last seven laps, the decline of the rear B800 forced the Go Eleven rider to defend his position close to the Top Ten, bringing home important points.

Race 1: 
P 1   A. Bautista   29’06.615
P 2   T. Razgatlioglu   + 8.864
P 3    J. Rea   + 8.927
…
P 12   P. Oettl   + 31.286

For tomorrow, we need to further reduce the gap with the Top Ten, working mainly on the end of the race, where we suffered today. Furthermore, on Sunday the weather could play a decisive and unexpected variable; a bit of Rain can come close to Race 2 starting time.

Philipp Oettl (Rider):

“After FP 3, where I had a really bad feeling, P 12 in the race isn’t totally bad, we worked hard all the weekend, after the Superpole I was a bit more optimistic, I didn’t expect to ride in 41. We still have a lot of work to do to close a bit the gap, we need to focus on where we can improve. I have high motivation, together with the Team we can only fight to move our standing. Overall my feeling improved on the bike, now i can ride more comfortable! Before the red flag in the race I had an even better feeling, but this leave me positive for tomorrow.”

Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager):
“Here in Barcelona we found a slippery track with excessive tyre drop, this forced us to change the work program for the whole weekend. Yesterday we were in a lot of trouble but this morning, after studying the data, we managed to take a good step forward and in Race 1 we got very close to the Top 10. Tomorrow we will try to take another step forward, the path taken seems to be the right one. The main problem remains grip and tyre drop. Let’s see what happens tomorrow, where the weather could change the values on track.”

Sunday – Tyres play an important role in the results again

Certainly, on this Sunday at Montmelò, the Go Eleven Team was unable to change a difficult weekend, conditioned by excessive tyre drop and lack of grip on the track. The positive note is that for half of today’s race Philipp was able to keep up with the pace of the Top Ten, improving his references compared to yesterday by over half a second. That’s not enough, since the gap is wide compared to the group in front, but there have been signs of improvements and growth.

The Warm Up was a really useless session for Go Eleven, Philipp had to use very used tyre to save the new compounds in case of restarts or red flags in the scheduled races.

Warm Up: 
P 1   A. Bautista   1.41.367
P 2   T. Razgatliogliu    + 0.287
P 3   M. Rinaldi    + 0.355
…
P 21   P. Oettl   + 3.152

A small step forward was seen in the Superpole Race; the number 5 was able to keep up with the riders fighting for the points, the first nine, he was never able to close the gap definitively, but at least he kept a pace similar to that of Scott Redding. In the last three laps the condition of the track was really critical; the rain wet the track in some places, but still the asphalt was slick. Everyone raised their times a lot, Oettl was one of the fastest on track in the last part of the race. Thirteenth position at the finish line, no changes for the starting grid for Race 2.

Superpole Race:  
P 1    A. Bautista    17’10.303
P 2    T. Razgatlioglu   + 2.110
P 3    A. Locatelli   + 2.385
…
P 13   P. Oettl   + 10.428

Race 2 was the best race of the weekend, despite only two points being scored in the end; Philipp was able to keep up with the group in front, catching up on Redding and Gardner, passing both of them. Once again, however, the end of the race was bitter and difficult to manage; the tyre dropped a lot, the German rider tried to hold on, fight, but had to give way to the Yamaha Australian at the end. The race pace was faster than yesterday, and at least he was able to fight with his rivals. Today the three satellite Ducatis struggled a lot to find the rhythm, ending after tenth place.

Race 2: 
P 1   A. Bautista   34’17.010
P 2   T. Razgatlioglu   + 8.583
P 3    M. Rinaldi   + 8.643
…
P 14   P. Oettl   + 29.381

The weekend here in Catalunya was negative for the Go Eleven team; expectations were different, unexpected difficulties arose from day one, which did not allow the number 5 Ducati to be in the positions that count. Several times it has been written of small improvements, of steps forward, then not found in the final positions of the standings; over the three days, however, the staff and Philipp managed to find solutions and modifications to carry on in the next races. This aspect gives confidence for next week’s tests, in Misano, where it will be essential to find the right combination for the home race!

Philipp Oettl (Rider):

“Even though the result of today is worse than the one of yesterday, I think we did a good race, we did another step in the right direction. Of course I would like to be much more close and in the battle, I hope the next test in Misano will help us a lot, we could find some new solutions for the season. I like to have tests now, cause during the weekend we can just work on the race, and we have few minutes. I think we took the most from our weekend, it’s not enough, but we have been solid without crashes or problems. We need to focus on ourselves to continue working, the Team did a fantastic job, they never give up, they gave me a good feeling and atmosphere. I am sure we can come back!”

Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager):
“The result does not reward the work we are doing and the determination that the whole team, including Philipp, is putting in to get back to the area of the standings we deserve. Here we set up a different type of work, taking a path that we think will bring us benefits already from the next round. Back from Barcelona we have scheduled 2 days of testing at Misano, next Thursday and Friday, where we will have the opportunity to test a few things and ideas that we have. Today in race two we were certainly faster than yesterday, We’ve taken a step forward but we have to take another one, and we have all the credentials to do so. We leave Barcelona aware that we have to do more to get back to the positions we deserve!”