Solid Sunday in Donington Park for Philipp Oettl! After a convincing Warm Up, the two races have shown the progress made, despite having only touched the goal of this Round, the top ten positions.
The Warm Up saw the German rider in good shape, immediately seeming at ease with the changes made. during the session he set a good pace on the low 28, showing himself satisfied at the end of the session and charged up for the races.
Warm Up:
P 1 T. Razgatlioglu 1.27.390
P 2 J. Rea + 0.011
P 3 A. Bautista + 0.123
…
P 10 P. Oettl + 1.016
In Superpole Race Philipp starts well, defending the 11th position, and goes in pursuit of Gerloff and Baz, fighting for the last available place which allows him to improve the starting position for Race 2. The pace is very fast, all the riders at the front, apart from the Ducatis and the Hondas, opted for the Q at the rear, managing to have more grip in the first laps. The German rider, however, manages to keep the duo’s in front pace, but he lacks a tenth per lap that would allow him to ignite the battle. He ends a good race eleventh, especially with an improved feeling in the last sector and also on the race pace compared to the race on Saturday.
Superpole Race:
P 1 T. Razgatlioglu 14’35.464
P 2 J. Rea + 1.089
P 3 S. Redding + 3.889
…
P 11 P. Oettl + 1.256
In Race 2 Philipp was unable to make the same start of the morning, losing three positions. In the first two laps, however, he immediately entered with decision on Vierge and Haslam, managing not to waste too much time, then he set his pace, riding on excellent times, about 28.5 and entering the fight for the top 10. With Baz, Gerloff and Lecuona has a great battle, exchanging positions several times over the 24 laps of the race, and perhaps the Go Eleven rider seems to have a few decimals in his pocket. Once he got behind the Honda Spaniard, however, he was unable to carry the attack, and in the meantime the rear tyre suffered a small drop. In the last five laps he struggled a bit, being overtaken by Baz and Gerloff, and taking home the twelfth position; although the position is worse than yesterday, the race was much faster and more competitive for Philipp, who found himself fighting with highly experienced riders who have already achieved at least one podium in SBK.
Race 2:
P 1 T. Razgatlioglu 33’48.407
P 2 A. Bautista + 1.102
P 3 J. Rea + 2.615
…
P 12 P. Oettl + 24.142
Once again, the Top Ten faded right at the end, but today the step forward was remarkable, even considering the final gap from the first (about 8 seconds less). For Philipp it was the first time at Donington, and, overall, on one of the most difficult tracks for Ducati and for the German rider, the races went in the books with three solid results. The next stop is in Most, in two weeks, a track that Philipp particularly likes. In between, we are waiting for you all at WDW in Misano, from 22nd to 24th July!
Philipp Oettl (Rider): “Today I think we made a step in the right direction, I wanted the Top Ten so so hard, I thought today in Race 2 we could achieve it, but we finished so close! I learned quite a bit compared to yesterday, I think in Most we can make a step forward. We know what is our level; in the practice session we were in the Top Ten, in the races sometimes we miss something. I am trying to stabilise the start, overall this weekend it was better than the previous races. Two starts were ok, in Superpole Race we a made a strong first lap, too. The overtakes are not a problem, we did a lot this weekend, too, but I think being for the first time here didn’t help us so much, even if we had three solid races.”
Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager):“I am satisfied with today’s races, but not happy. Philipp has improved a lot, both the start and his speed, he ran Race 2 in 9 seconds less than yesterday, while the others took the same time, and this is the best data, because it means that the work we are doing is on the right path and Oettl is growing and learning fast. He did a good battle, but we didn’t manage to get 9th position, it was a shame, but he did his maximum so that’s okay. We have to continue on this line, our goals are high, and the important thing is to get there, without rushing us or putting too much pressure! “
