Superbike rookie Philipp Öttl collects three World Championship points at the first race in Aragon: A scare costs a possible top-10 result
Ducati rider Philipp Öttl finished the first Superbike World Championship race of his career in 13th place. Starting from twelfth on the grid, Öttl rode a good race and definitely had chances of a top-10 finish. After 13 laps, the German was already in tenth place. But a small ride in the last corner cost Öttl a few positions.
“I was riding in a group with Gerloff and Baz. At the end of the back straight I unfortunately made a small mistake. I had to take a wide line and that cost me a few seconds. After that I couldn’t find my rhythm,” Öttl reported after race one in Aragon.
“I am not dissatisfied. The start could have been a tad better,” notes the GoEleven rider. “Without the mistake, I’m sure we could have fought for a top-10 result. The mistake was stupid. The bike came across at the end of the back straight and I had to go straight. “
Öttl was already dueling with some prominent opponents in his first WSBK race. The BMWs of WSBK race winners Eugene Laverty and Loris Baz were within striking distance. “I could still have overtaken the two BMW riders. They lacked grip in the long corners,” Öttl said.
“In the course of the race it all shifted a bit. The Yamaha was relatively strong at the end of the race. With the BMW it was relatively balanced. Our bike wasn’t running bad either,” notes the former Grand Prix rider. “The tyre wear was as we expected it to be.
Were the duels different from those in the Supersport World Championship? “It is held in exactly the same way and there is the same action as usual. There is no big difference,” Öttl explains. “We still have to analyse the data carefully to understand what we did right and wrong. On the whole, it was not bad. We were able to take three points.”
And what does Öttl say about compatriot Lennox Lehmann’s success in the Supersport 300 World Championship race (the German youngster stormed onto the podium from 25th on the grid)? “Lennox rode really strong, considering his starting position. I liked that a lot. He is still relatively young. A podium in the first race – that’s not bad when you realise that he’s a rookie,” praised Öttl.
