What a pity, that was not what we needed! After a good Superpole Race and an excellent start in Race 2, Philipp was forced to retire from the race following the engine failure, while he was fighting with Redding, who then finished in fifth position.
The day started well, with Philipp in great shape in the Warm Up. Six laps done, all on the very low 35, demonstrating great consistency and speed. The changes made compared to Race 1 paid off, allowing the German rider to push right from the first laps, even on new tyres.
Warm Up:
P 1 A. Bautista 1.34.120
P 2 J. Rea + 0.283
P 3 T. Razgatlioglu + 0.583
…
P 7 P. Oettl + 0.983
The Superpole Race is currently the most critical race for Go Eleven, as there is no time to recover in the event of a negative start; here in Assen, it was even shortened by a lap due to a bike that didn’t start just moments before the start. Philipp, once again, was unable to start very well, losing several positions in Turn 1; with nine laps the comeback to get into the nine is a difficult task. Oettl, however, sets his pace, managing to pass Mahias, Vierge and then Redding, with great aggression, and sets off in pursuit of the group that goes up to fifth position. Sector after sector he recovers tenths out of tenths, riding almost a second faster than his opponents. At the end of the last lap he arrives close to Bassani, but unfortunately it would have taken a couple of corners to get into the fight. It’s a pity for the time lost at the beginning, but all the staff is aware of the great potential expressed by the bike-rider package.
Superpole Race:
P 1 J. Rea 14’10.648
P 2 T. Razgatlioglu + 0.267
P 3 A. Bautista + 0.300
…
P 10 P. Oettl + 13.871
About race two, well, there is not much to say…unfortunately it was just a lap long, in which Philipp felt really confident and fit to get an important result. On the starting straight, then, while he was attacking Redding, the bike had a sudden drop in power, which forced the German rider to finish the race on the gravel. Unfortunately it’s racing, but it is even more disappointing when riders battling with the Ducati Go Eleven then finished in the top five.
Race 2:
P 1 A. Bautista 33’20.602
P 2 A. Locatelli + 8.770
P 3 I. Lecuona + 11.580
…
DNF P. Oettl
Now there will be three weeks before the WorldSBK protagonists are back in action at the Estoril circuit, Portugal, May 20-22. The technicians of the Italian team will analyze the reasons that led to the failure, and Philipp will be back on track at the Portuguese track to confirm the excellent progress seen at TT-Circuit Assen. Regardless of the last race, Oettl has shown that he is fast, consistent and can fight for the top positions, without making any particular mistakes. In the last race also the start was much better, so now we just need to put everything together and bring home a great result.
It was really nice to see the rider, who once returned to the garage, went to every member of the team to compliment the work done over the weekend, encouraging one by one after the disappointment of Race 2; we can have fun, Philipp!
Philipp Oettl (Rider):
“Today it was a short Race, I lost the power immediately after the first lap, but quite fast. I had to retire from the race. I think we had a really great potential, I felt strong, the bike was really good to ride, the team worked in the right direction and finally I had a good start, too. Everything was falling into place, but with this type of technical problem we can’t do anything. Of course it’s a bit disappointing, because riders that this morning had less pace than me almost fight for the podium, but it’s part of the game. Now we have three weeks off to get ready to the next one; in Estoril I made three podiums in the last two years, so I like the track!”
Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager):
“I am quite angry because today could have been a good opportunity for us and for Philipp. In motorsport we have to accept technical problems too, but we are really sorry. The positive side is that no one expected Philipp to be already at this level, he is really going strong and growing with incredible speed. I’m happy with him and my team’s work, we can’t wait to go back to Estoril to shake off this disappointment! “
