Friday

Changeable weather conditions

Although the rain was highly predictable, Friday on the Magny-Cours track proved to be really uncertain, with several changes in the asphalt conditions due to continuous drops of rain. It is difficult to give importance to today’s times and positions, also considering that a much more stable weather is expected for the rest of the weekend.

FP 1 started with a dry track, but just enough time to complete two laps, and it started to Rain in the Paddock area, in the first and last sectors. Philipp was picking up the pace, trying to understand the behavior of the V4-R on a very technical and complicated track like the French one. After the seventh position obtained in more or less dry conditions, the German rider, like all Superbike riders, stopped for a long time in the pits, before returning to the track in the final minutes, in Rain configuration. Few useful laps to fix the electronics and all sent back to FP 2.

Free Practice 1:
P 1   A. Lowes   1.39.107
P 2   M. Rinaldi   + 0.270
P 3   T. Razgatlioglu   + 0.326
…
P 7   P. Oettl   + 2.113

FP 2 takes place in light but consistent rain, giving rise to a real wet session; the track, however, improves lap after lap, drying quickly enough, but not so much to be able to use slicks. Oettl improved at each lap by about half a second, but at the end he cannot get a clean lap, losing a few tenths all over the track. The feeling, however, in the wet is quite good, considering that this is the second outing of the season on a wet track, and with some more risk he could certainly have achieved a better position. The best pass of the Go Eleven rider was also canceled due to a yellow flag.

Free Practice 2: 
P 1   J. Rea   1.49.379
P 2   A. Bassani   + 1.028
P 3   A. Lowes   + 1.639
…
P 18   P. Oettl   + 4.146

For tomorrow and Sunday the weather seems decidedly better, and in all probability the races will be held in dry conditions; Unfortunately for Philipp it will be rather difficult to find an optimal set-up in case it does not rain, given the few sessions left available, but the time is the same for everyone and it will be essential to work in the right direction starting from FP 3.

Philipp Oettl (Rider): 
“Today it was a difficult day for us and for all WorldSBK riders, due to the weather changed quickly from rain to sun. We only had two dry laps this morning, then we started riding in the rain; it was my second time in real rain condition, after Most, so it has been really important to have some laps. I think today I better understand what to do in case of Wet Race. The position of the afternoon is not really good, but I have a good feeling for the future in similar conditions. Tomorrow it will be a really difficult day, cause we will not have so many laps to find the right set-up, cause the circuit, this morning when I had a couple of laps with slick tyres, was different compared to tomorrow morning!”

Saturday

Oettl finishes P8 in race one

On the first day in dry conditions, Philipp Oettl proved competitive and fast on the Magny-Cours track. After taking the best qualifying of the season, finishing tenth, just 0.5 seconds from pole, he was able to manage the 22 laps of the race well, finishing eighth. Another Top Ten achieved, another good result for the whole team!

The FP 3 proved to be crucial for the development of today. Only session available with slicks to find a good set-up both on the Superpole lap and for the race distance. The German rider entered the track motivated, immediately finding a good feeling with his Ducati V4-R. After a change of compound in the middle of the session, he finishes in tenth position, making good use of his strengths especially in the first and fourth sectors.

Free Practice 3:
P 1   T. Razgatlioglu   1.36.626
P 2   S. Redding   + 0.571
P 3   L. Baz   + 0.676
…
P 10   P. Oettl   + 1.118

In Superpole Philipp started confident that he could get a good result, given the excellent first session of the morning. At the first attempt he manages to make good use of the soft tyre and enter the Top 8, but as often happens, the second attempt is what establishes the final standing. The number 5 returns to the track, scores a great first sector, then defends himself well in the second and third, the most delicate points of the track, and sets an excellent last sector, finishing fifth for the moment. At the end of the session he is tenth, just half a second from pole position, but, above all, with a tenth faster he could have started from the second row. When the ranking is so short there is always a bit of regret for not having achieved the big result, but it is still a great performance for the German rookie. Fourth row, good starting position from the outside in corner one, and a race to be race openly.

Superpole: 
P 1   J. Rea   1.36.124
P 2   T. Razgatlioglu   + 0.000
P 3   S. Redding   +  0.109
…
P 10   P. Oettl   + 0.551

Race 1 starts with uncertainty for the WorldSBK riders; no one was able to make a real long run, consequently no one could know what to expect at the end. At the start Philipp manages to defend his position well, immediately trying to pass Mahias. At the beginning of the race the pace of the top ten is very tight, so much so that the distance between the riders is short and the race remains open to any interpretation. Oettl passes Mahias, tries to be kind with the tyres in the first few laps, especially being aware that he has opted for the softer solution at the front. Towards the middle of the race he loses his position against the two Honda HRCs, but at the end, tenth after tenth, he recovers on Vierge, overtakes him in turn five, then sets off in pursuit of Lecuona using Rinaldi’s train. On the last lap Lecuona, Locatelli and the Go Eleven rider are fighting for seventh place; the Italian passes both of them, accusing perhaps a minor drop in the tyre, Philipp overtakes the Spaniard in the third sector and concludes eighth. Good result, which allows us to restart the Championship from where he stopped in Most, showing good growth. Today’s result is excellent, but in the Team there was a little regret because sixth place was within reach; for tomorrow it will be necessary to take a further step to close the gap from fifth place!

Race 1:
P 1   A. Bautista   34’06.991
P 2   S. Redding   + 4.079
P 3   A. Bassani   + 6.751
…
P 8   P. Oettl   + 20.712

Sunday Schedule:
h 9.00 – 9.15 WUP
h 11.00 Superpole Race
h 14.00 Race 1

Philipp Oettl (Rider): 
“Today it was a positive day! Yesterday the weather didn’t help us a lot, so today it was not so easy to set-up a bike for any kind of conditions. In FP 3 we did a good job, then in Superpole, too. The Top Ten was our personal best result in qualy, we were really really close to the Top 3. The start was good, the race then was solid and consistent. I am happy because it’s the closest gap to the front we had this year so far, so we can be optimistic. Tomorrow in the Warm Up we try to improve our feeling, we need to find a good solution for the front here, today we were at the limit with the tyre drop. Let’s see tomorrow, but I am happy!”

Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager):
“This morning Philipp was very good, he almost surprised me, because no one expected him to be so fast the first time on this track with a Superbike; we have to keep in mind that yesterday they didn’t ride on a dry track so he was almost without references. In qualifying He stopped two tenths from Alvaro, it’s so close! The result of the race makes us happy, he rode well without making mistakes and he put on factory bikes and riders behind, besides we got the shortest gap from the first since the beginning of the season! Now we have to work for tomorrow, today we had too much front tyre drop, we will try to improve this aspect and get even closer to the Top 5, trying to reconfirm ourselves in the positions of Race 1! ”

Sunday

Tough first laps and tyre problem force Philipp Oettl out of the top 10

A bittersweet Sunday for the Go Eleven team, in which Philipp Oettl finished both races fighting for the Top Ten, only to finish them just outside. Unfortunately, the pace shown today, especially in Race 2, was not enough to reach the goal, due to an anomalous loss of pressure on the front, which suffered especially at the end.

In the warm-up, the German rider tried a new tyre configuration, also considering the thirteen degrees in the air, to be potentially used in the Superpole Race. The feeling was not good, he was never able to do a lap completely alone, but in any case he then opted to put aside the configuration he tested in the morning.

Warm Up:
P 1   T. Razgatlioglu   1.36.226
P 2   M. Rinaldi   + 0.811
P 3   A. Lowes   + 0.822
…
P 17   P. Oettl   + 2.211

In Superpole Race Philipp suffered a contact in Turn 2 with Xavi Vierge, losing the right line and five positions. From then on he started to comeback, constantly riding faster than the group fighting for the Top 8. After some excellent overtakes on Laverty and Mahias, he closes the gap further, overtakes Van Der Mark, but fails to enter the fight for the points. Unfortunately it remains an excellent race in terms of speed, but both for an unlucky first lap and for some time lost in the battle, the German rider couldn’t hit the target. In any case, race 2 grid unchanged for him.

Superpole Race: 
P 1   T. Razgatlioglu   16’07.145
P 2   A. Bautista   + 1.891
P 3   J. Rea   +  2.040
…
P 12   P. Oettl   + 14.285

In Race 2 the weather conditions were very different from Saturday; bright sun, asphalt at about 37 degrees, almost ten more than in the first race. Team Go Eleven opts for a soft choice on the front, resulting the only ones on the grid in this configuration. The start is once again complicated, then at the Adelaide hairpin remains outside, losing many positions and passing seventeenth across the finish line. Once again he puts his head down and in two laps three riders comeback, and sets off in pursuit of Mahias and Vierge. Towards the middle of the race he conquers the eleventh position, trying to recover tenth out of tenth on Lecuona, who was close to Gerloff, Baz and Locatelli. Unfortunately, towards the end of the race, there is little feeling with the front and Philipp can only defend himself by taking home important points. When the bike returned to the pits, the technicians found that there was an anomalous loss of pressure at the front, which became even more evident in the final laps, when the German rider required more support.

Race 2:
P 1   T. Razgatlioglu   34’04.476
P 2   M. Rinaldi   + 2.024
P 3   A. Bassani   + 4.742
…
P 11   P. Oettl   + 25.740

A positive weekend overall, with a Top Ten obtained in race 1 and two good performances in Sunday’s races. Unfortunately small technical problem precluded the possibility of a further comeback in Race 2, but also on French soil, Philipp showed that he can keep up with the important positions. Now WorldSBK moves to Barcelona, Montmelò circuit, on which Philipp was able to test during the winter; September 23-25, Round 08!

Philipp Oettl (Rider): 
“Today it was a little bit hotter compared to yesterday, we tried to ride with the same tyres of Race 1. We struggled a little bit in the Warm Up, cause we use a different tyre configuration, in order to use it in the Superpole Race, but the feeling was not good, so we kept yesterday choice. Overall we had a good weekend, we worked really well in Superpole and Race 1, then in Race 2 we had a small problem due to a lost of pressure in the front tyre, but we had a solid race anyway. We took a lot of infos about the new front and rear, which I think it’s important for the next races. Barcelona will be a difficult weekend; it’s a very challenging track due to a lack of grip. After the summer break we did a good job, we worked a lot together with the team and that’s important to try to make the next step to the front group. It was one of the most stable weekend, speaking about performances. The P 8 of yesterday was a strong motivation looking forward to Round 08!”

Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager):
“Today was a day where we collected a little less than we hoped for, despite completing two good races. Unfortunately we suffered a problem on the front, the tyre has lost pressure and we do not know the cause yet, we are analyzing it, but this certainly negatively influenced Philipp’s race, especially in the final where he would have needed even more support with the soft choice. This is why Oettl did well to take the race home without being able to close on the group he had in front of him. All in all it was a positive day though, and up to the middle of the race Philipp was faster than yesterday, so we improved our package!”