P 10 in the morning, P 10 in the afternoon, two different races, but the same result for Philipp Oettl and Team Go Eleven. Solid, fast races, with an excellent race pace fully in line with the Top 5. In both races he just missed the last lap overtake, the crazy one in which to be a bit out of the line. In both races the toughest opponent was Vierge, in the morning fighting for the Top 9, which would have been worth the grid reversal, in Race 2 the eighth final position. Happy, yes, for the good performance throughout the weekend, but aware that we could have done even better!
The Warm Up, as throughout the year, is used to test the SCQ from a Superpole Race perspective. Good pace, constant performance, good feeling with the Ducati Panigale V4-R.
Warm Up:
P 1 A. Bautista 1.36.183
P 2 T. Razgatlioglu + 0.103
P 3 G. Gerloff + 0.424
…
P 10 P. Oettl + 1.213
The Superpole Race showed Philipp Oettl being fast and really strong in terms of race pace. He caught and overtook both Gardner and Van der Mark, then thanks to some contacts he found himself fighting for the grid reversal, for the Top 9 in the final laps. Opponent of the day, Xavi Vierge and his Honda; one against one for just one place in the points, the German rider tried to get in every way, but the Spaniard was good at defending himself and fight back. Tenth place, Top Ten, but it’s a shame not to get points.
Superpole Race:
P 1 T. Razgatlioglu 16’06.697
P 2 A. Bautista + 0.970
P 3 J. Rea + 2.503
…
P 10 P. Oettl + 8.476
In Race 2 Philipp started very well, even recovering positions, then in turn 5, he found himself on the outside, thus losing positions. In the first steps, a stone hit him on his foot, so hard that he thought he had broken it. Then the pain gradually improved, again managing to recover and easily close the gap with the front group, made up of Gardner, Vierge and Baz. He overtakes the Australian and the Frenchman, but then, as in the Superpole Race, he stops behind the Honda. Unfortunately here Philipp suffered in braking and acceleration, remaining faster in the center of the corner compared to the HRC. Failing to attempt an overtaking, Gardner rejoined, perhaps with less tyre drop, passing them both on the last lap. Tenth position confirmed, but this time we could have done better, the possible position could have been seventh or eighth. He’s left with a bit of a bad taste in his mouth about not overtaking, but the speed from the start of the season has returned anyway. Now we can be competitive and fight in the top positions.
Race 2:
P 1 A. Bautista 27’32.363
P 2 T. Razgatlioglu + 5.893
P 3 J. Rea + 6.779
…
P 10 P. Oettl + 19.986
A week’s break, then WorldSBK moves to Aragon, a spectacular and unique circuit, on which Ducati has always achieved great performances. The performance of Magny-Cours will have to be confirmed, but with the work and dedication of the whole team, the goal is to fight for even more important positions. Happy with this weekend, but halfway, because even better results could have been achieved!
Philipp Oettl (Rider): “Overall it was a positive weekend, mainly in the Superpole Race we had a really strong pace. Before red flag, in Race 2, I had the right confidence, but then I couldn’t find the same at the restart. Anyway, the tyre was the same. Three Top Ten is fine, but I am a bit sad, cause we could have done P 9 in the morning and P 8 in the afternoon. The goal for Aragon is to confirm our good shape and maybe fight for even better places. The guys did a super job this weekend, I worked calm, we have to continue like this!“
Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager): “Today I’m just partly happy; we were fast, Philipp, when he has a clear track is one of the fastest riders, but we missed overtaking, thus losing positions and time. Furthermore, he was hit by a stone on the foot of the gear shift during the first lap, he lost sensation for a few laps and this made him lose the positions he had gained with a good start. 3 Top Tens are good, better than the last races, but we are struggling too much to overtake, today we lost two one to one battle with Vierge and we must try to work together to improve this aspect!“
 P 10 al mattino, P 10 al pomeriggio, due gare diverse, ma lo stesso risultato per Philipp Oettl ed il Team Go Eleven. Gare solide, veloci, con un ottimo passo gara pienamente in linea con la Top 5. In entrambe le gare è mancata l'aggressività, la superiorità leggera per il sorpasso dell'ultimo giro, quello matto in cui lanciare il cuore oltre l'ostacolo. Entrambe le gare l'avversario più ostico è stato Vierge, al mattino in lotta per la Top 9, che sarebbe valsa l'inversione di griglia, in Race 2 l'ottava posizione finale. Contenti si, per la buona prestazione di tutto il weekend, ma consapevoli che si poteva fare ancora meglio!){kind=link}