Friday

Philipp gets the top 10 in practice at Portimao

Day 1 in Portimao turns out to be positive and strong for Philipp Oettl and Team Go Eleven! The German rider enters the Top Ten of the day at the end of a very fast second session for the WorldSBK protagonists, where the Best Lap of the day stopped half a second from the lap record.

In the first session Philipp found a good feeling with the V4-R, starting from the positive sensations found on Sunday in Barcelona. In Portimao it will be important to manage the tyre for the race distance, so the technicians chose to used just a set tyres. Philipp made all the laps on the 42, managing well the drop of the rear Pirelli. As often happens, the FP 1 standing is not so realistic, as several riders have used the new tyre at the end, improving their Best.

Free Practice 1: 
P 1   M. Rinaldi   1.40.965
P 2   G. Gerloff   + 0.117
P 3   T. Razgatlioglu   + 0.294
…
P 13   P. Oettl   + 1.330

In FP 2 Philipp faced the session with the new 624 rear compound, in order to make a comparison to the morning. The asphalt temperature, about 10 degrees warmer than in FP 1, made the Portuguese asphalt more slippery and difficult to analyze. In the last sector, the one of the fast corners, for example, Oettl lost a few tenths compared to the morning. Towards the end of the session, then, the German rider put on a new set of tyres, with which he attacked the time, riding below 42 and entering the Top Ten, two tenths from sixth place. The third sector remains to be solved, a real weak point here at the ups and downs of the Algarve.

Free Practice 2: 
P 1   T. Razgatlioglu   1.40.720
P 2   J. Rea   + 0.476
P 3   A. Bautista   + 0.503
…
P 9   P. Oettl   + 1.118

Philipp Oettl (Rider):
“Today it was a solid day! We have a quite consistent pace, which I think it will be really important tomorrow. We have two main areas on which we need to work for tomorrow, but I think we can go in the right direction, as our technical debrief gave us some ideas. I hope my comments will help the team to find the right solutions. I think we are competitive here in Portimao, too, so I am happy today!”

Saturday

Race 1 affected by a mistake, but resumed with a huge comeback

Saturday seems to turn its back on Team Go Eleven! Once again the pace to be in the top eight was there, but, today, an “on the gravel” in Turn 1 on the second lap forced Philipp to loose nine positions, then forcing him to make a strong comeback with many overtakes!

In FP 3, Oettl felt at ease from the very first laps, despite a used tyre from Friday, immediately dropping to 41 and setting a good pace. Back in the pits, he then attempted the time attack with the SCX, here in Portimao considered the qualifying tyre in the absence of the SCQ. With a spectacular lap, he stops the chrono in 1.40.915, entering the top six. In cool conditions, the Ducati V4-R ridden by the German rider always manages to be very competitive, probably due to the higher grip on the track.

Free Practice 3: 
P 1   T. Razgatlioglu   1.40.121
P 2   A. Locatelli   + 0.592
P 3    J. Rea   + 0.606
…
P 6   P. Oettl   + 0.794

In Superpole Philipp Oettl managed to further lower his reference, also improving between the first and second time attacks. Despite a time very close to the 2021 track record, the Top Ten remained at one tenth, with three tenths he would have entered the top eight; those three tenths left between the third and fourth sector compared to the best references of the German rookie. Twelfth place taken, not a bad result, but perhaps a few better positions would have been ideal in view of Race 1 and Superpole Race.

Superpole: 
P 1   J. Rea   1.39.610
P 2   T. Razgatlioglu   + 0.162
P 3   A. Lowes   + 0.249
…
P 12   P. Oettl   + 0.916

In Race 1, as in Barcelona, Team Go Eleven fails to concretize the potential shown; after a good start, Philipp joins the group fighting for the P 8, but on the second lap, in turn 1, he ends up wide, losing nine positions, thus finding himself twenty-first. He starts a furious comeback, with so many overtakings and laps on 41, recovering nine positions in fourteen laps. On the finish line he gets to worry Lecuona, but unfortunately the race ends before he can attack him. The pace was really good, definitely in line to finish eighth. In any case, the performance was superb, showing great conviction and nastiness in the middle of the group. Tomorrow we can surely be in the fight within the Top Ten!

Race 1: 
P 1   T. Razgatlioglu   23’33.449
P 2   A. Bautista   + 0.657
P 3   J. Rea   + 3.032
…
P 12   P. Oettl   + 21.628

Today, however, the result is not and should not be the main topic; in the Supersport 300 race, Victor Steeman was involved in a very serious accident, and now he is in hospital where he is racing the most important race. The Go Eleven Team want to be close to the rider, the family and the Team, hoping that everything will go well, and that good news will come as soon as possible.

Philipp Oettl (Rider):
“Today we had a good start again, in the first lap I overtook a couple of riders, but then I made a mistake in the first corner, loosing many positions. I was at the really back of the standing. I gave my best to come back as many positions as possible, I had an incredible pace, that’s why I am optimistic for tomorrow. In the Warm Up, we will try something more, to find some solutions mainly on the front. Today I made so many overtakes, I enjoyed it, but tomorrow we need to stay focused and to take home what we deserve! Today it was a hard day for everybody in the paddock; Victor is fighting for his life in the hospital, so I want to wish him and the family all the best, waiting and hoping for good news!”

Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager): 
“Today is a bad page in motorsport, unfortunately a young rider is fighting in the hospital and I want to wish him the best, first of all waiting for him to win the battle and get back on track as soon as possible. Our day was a bit bitter; unfortunately Philipp made a small mistake in turn 1, which, being on the second lap, cost us many positions; it seems that the Saturday race never wants to go the right way. After the mistake, however, Oettl resumed with great tenacity, coming back inside points and taking Lecuona! He was among the fastest on the track, with a great pace. Now we work and improve something for Sunday, and I’m sure we can take away some satisfaction here in Portimao!”

Sunday

So close to the top 10, but missed out by just a few tenths

Solid Sunday for Team Go Eleven on the Rollercoaster of Portimao. Philipp conquers a double eleventh position, always finishing really close to the Top Ten, just a few hundredths from tenth place. That’s a pity he didn’t hit the target, but the German rookie has always shown himself to be competitive and fighting for important positions, also in terms of final gap in the race.

In the Warm Up, Oettl immediately proves to be fit and in line with the target performance, setting his pace on a low 41 for several consecutive laps. He does not risk that much and saves some energy in view of the races.

Warm Up: 
P 1   T. Razgatlioglu   1.40.116
P 2   A. Bautista   + 0.394
P 3    A. Lowes  + 0.404
…
P 11   P. Oettl   + 1.130

In Superpole Race Philipp and Team Go Eleven take a risk; they choose the rear SCX, the soft qualifying tyre, which, at least on paper, should provide extra grip in the first few laps, and suffer at the end. Oettl starts well, then a contact in turn three with Gerloff slows down him a bit; contrary to what is predictable, in the first two laps, he struggles to find the right pace, but from the third lap onwards he lights up and closes the gap with the Top Ten. He comes back, fight with Vierge, but in the final stage the tyre drops and he can’t take advantage of his strong point, the exit at the last corner. He finishes eleventh, in the slipstream of the Hondas and Baz, but unfortunately he does not improve his grid for Race 2. The choice of the SCX, perhaps, turned out to be wrong, but it was a calculated risk, which had to be taken to look for something different. In any case, once again, the group we are fighting with was just a few tenths ahead, and the performance of rider number 5 was definitively positive.

Superpole Race: 
P 1   T. Razgatlioglu   16’45.342
P 2    A. Bautista   + 0.123
P 3    J. Rea    + 1.434
…
P 11   P. Oettl   + 12.692

In Race 2 Philipp starts badly as he is outside in the first three corners, thus losing some positions. In the first few laps, he can’t ride below 42, finding himself fighting with slower riders, and not riding his own lines. After overtaking Mahias and the BMWs of Van Der Mark and Laverty, Philipp is 3.8 seconds behind Loris Baz, who was then first of the Independents. He starts a very long run-up, riding on the low 41, 41 and a half, so much so that he manages to close the gap before the last 4 laps. Gerloff also recovers, gets into a fight with Philipp, manages to take a small advantage and tries to attack Baz. Due to the fight between the two, Oettl finally closes up and tries to play his cards; he overtakes Loris once, then the French is back on the inside, Loris overtakes the American, but the latter manages to create a small gap, which will be decisive. In the last lap, everything happens; Philipp attacks in turn one, goes long, Baz misses shortly after and in the end they arrive really close. Go Eleven takes home another eleventh place, a good result, but still aware that we could have entered the top nine with a couple of faster laps in the first part of the Race.

Race 2: 
P 1   A. Bautista   33’40.730
P 2   T. Razgatlioglu   + 2.256
P 3   J. Rea   + 4.758
…
P 11   P. Oettl   + 24.047

WorldSBK concludes the European Rounds, and moves overseas, to Argentina, where Round 10 will take place. The track is spectacular, the atmosphere there is always very warm, and despite the distance, we are sure that the show will be guaranteed. See you in El Villicum, 21-23 October 2022!

Philipp Oettl (Rider):
“Overall we did a good job this weekend, I didn’t feel good this weekend, I was a bit sick, and it didn’t help our progress. I think we did a good work, we finished strong, we were fighting. I wanted the Top Ten so hard, especially in the last race, but we just went close. I think we are in a good way, in a positive group of results and we have to continue like this. In the last lap today I tried to overtake Baz in the first corner, but I went off the track, then I was back in the track thinking it was over, but he made a big mistake, so I was close to him again, but the finish line came and I couldn’t pass him. Let’s see the next round, I think we can be in the fight there, too. ”

Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager): 
“In Superpole Race we risked the soft tyre, we expected something more, but the performance of the tyre was strange, different from what we expected. In Race 2 he remained outside the first corners, trying to take advantage of more free space, however we could not recover anything. I think then he had a good race, fighting the Best Independent almost to the checkered flag. We have to consider that he has had stomach problems for 2 days, and he was not in perfect shape, then on a so difficult and physical track, having no energy certainly does not help. Also for this reason I am happy with the tenacity and determination that Philipp is showing us. Every race we grow and improve in some area so we have to continue this trend!”