If the Go Eleven Team was able to show a good step forward on Sunday at Misano and Donington, the same cannot be said of Imola. In the Superpole Race Philipp was able to fight close to the Top Ten, but in the long race the pace was never in line with the reference group. It’s really a shame to end the home weekend taking one point, but now we need to work and understand the reasons for this Round below expectations.
In the Warm Up the SCQ tyre was evaluated to understand its use in the Superpole Race; the qualifying tyre works really well here at Imola, and above all it gives Philipp a good feeling. At the end of the session, the German rider said he was satisfied with the bike, but his shoulder was slightly suffering following yesterday’s crash in Superpole.
Warm Up:
P 1 T. Razgatlioglu 1.46.350
P 2 A. Bautista + 0.054
P 3 G. Gerloff + 0.195
…
P 11 P. Oettl + 1.355
Superpole Race, Oettl manages well in the first laps, and thanks to an excellent start, manages to conquer four positions. He tries to close on Gardner, but can’t get into an overtaking position. In the final laps Lecuona ignites a good battle, resolved at the finish line after a contact in the final chicane in favor of Philipp. A good race, unfortunately without points scored, but which gives confidence in view of Race 2.
Superpole Race:
P 1 T. Razgatlioglu 17’49.590
P 2 A. Bautista + 0.244
P 3 A. Locatelli + 1.720
…
P 12 P. Oettl + 15.879
Race 2 was definitely the best of the whole weekend; aggressiveness in the first laps, overtaking Gardner and Aegerter, then Scott Redding and Gerloff, with a really good pace, always in line with the Top 5. Philipp followed Petrucci for most of the race, together he closed on Locatelli, often riding faster of Vierge, too. Both the Ducati Barni and the Go Eleven never found the starting point to press the Yamaha rider, and in the final stages the Go Eleven rider was overtaken by Gerloff. Ninth position, back in the Top Ten that had been missing so much in the last few races, but even more importantly a very small gap from fifth position. Practically from the first to the last lap it increased by a total of two seconds, which certifies the excellent pace of the German number 5.
Race 2:
P 1 T. Razgatlioglu 27’00.997
P 2 A. Bassani + 1.966
P 3 J. Rea + 2.458
…
P 15 P. Oettl + 31.141
Race 2 at Imola proved to be much more painful and difficult than expected, the very high temperatures, over 40 degrees of air and about 60 of asphalt, caused even greater loss of grip, and Philipp suffered as a result. It was even difficult to defend against Baldassarri at the end to get a point. Now it’s hard to say what was missing, it will be necessary to analyze all the data well and find the right direction.
Philipp Oettl (Rider):“Today the Warm Up was not so bad, in the Superpole Race I had a really good start and I was in the right group, I had an interesting race. But all over the weekend was nothing particularly positive. Today I had also a bit of pain in my left shoulder after Superpole crash. In the morning the feeling with my Ducati was ok, but in the main Race I felt really bad with the front, I got one point, but i gave all my best to end there. Let’s see what datas show us. We just have one and a half week to get ready for Most, we have to be back in our positions!”
Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager): “This Sunday at Imola we achieved less than we expected. We wanted to make up for yesterday’s day, but especially in Race 2, the one that awards the most points, something didn’t work. The front closed and Philipp had to fight to stay in the points. Too bad because in the Superpole Race he managed a good comeback. Now we have to work in view of the last round before the summer break, we have to get back to our positions at Most. I wanted to thank everyone here at Imola, despite the heat it was a wonderful weekend, Imola is a track that I personally adore, one of the most beautiful in the world, it was wonderful to be back with WorldSBK!”
 Questa pista, questo luogo, proprio non ne vuole sapere di essere gentile nei confronti del Team Go Eleven. Quando la squadra piemontese sembrava aver trovato la quadra, e Philipp era pronto per lottare nella Top Ten, un pilota davanti è caduto ed il numero 5 non ha potuto evitare la sua moto! Zero punti, ma bisogna prendere il buono di questa domenica, dove il pilota tedesco si è mostrato aggressivo nei sorpassi e con un ritmo in linea con le posizioni importanti.){kind=link}