Philipp Öttl talks about his approach ahead of his second weekend in the World Superbike Championship and explains why he competed in the EWC at Le Mans
Ducati rider Philipp Öttl could not complain about a lack of riding practice in the past two weeks. The final test in Aragon was followed by the season opener of the Superbike World Championship. The following weekend, the German spontaneously started for the ERC Ducati team at the 24 Hours of Le Mans together with Xavi Fores and David Checa.
How did the start at the endurance classic come about? “On Tuesday afternoon I received the offer. Paolo Ciabatti from Ducati called GoEleven and after that it was clear that I would ride. The decision was taken from us in the end,” Öttl explained in the Assen paddock ahead of the second WSBK event of the season.
Öttl had the 24 Hours of Le Mans on his to-do list anyway: “I was interested because it was a great opportunity. Everyone knows about the 24 Hours of Le Mans. I had the chance to race in a good team with cool teammates. There was a chance to achieve something. That motivated me to do the race. “
Philipp Öttl makes a strong impression at Le Mans
A crash set the Ducati team back and they were eventually classified in 15th position. Öttl, however, left a strong impression. “I was able to set the fourth fastest lap of the race and was the fastest rider in the team “
I tried to do my job in the best possible way. It was a very interesting weekend”, the German sums up and adds: “The long distance is something that interests me. The 24 hours were pretty tough though. “
Set-up from Misano test should be the basis for Assen
This weekend Öttl will have to get used to his WSBK Ducati again. “The bike in the World Superbike Championship is a bit different. But I should be able to adjust to the bike again,” he explained.
“We are taking it step by step again. As a basis we use the set-up from Misano. We will change this set-up a little bit. There are still some ideas that we want to implement. We are concentrating on our work and not doing any rough experiments,” the GoEleven rider explained.
Good memories of the Assen circuit
The circuit in the Netherlands suited Öttl in the past. “Last year it went quite well here in the Supersport World Championship with a place on the front row and two podiums. But with the Superbike it’s a completely different challenge,” the WSBK rookie is aware.
“I am looking forward to it. I will use Friday to get used to the track. You have to take that time. With the Superbike you can’t ride certain corners at full throttle like you could with the 600,” compares the German.
“We try to confirm the results from Aragon. If more comes out of it, then it’s good. We go step by step so that the understanding of the bike is sustainable. I don’t want to ride without understanding what’s going on. That is important to me. I want to proceed in a structured way and that is also the team’s specification. We did a lot of things right at Aragon. “
