Luca Göttlicher: On the Euro Moto podium after a speeding offence

At the fifth Euro Moto event, Luca Göttlicher once again managed to break into the top three of the Supersport field. After six of the nine races held so far – the race at Most was abandoned and did not count towards the standings – Dirk Geiger, Poland’s Daniel Blin and Lennox Lehmann had stood on the podium in various combinations. As has now happened again at Assen, Luca Göttlicher has joined the honours three times.

As early as the first qualifying session, the 19-year-old from Schwifting had hinted at what he was capable of on his LJ Racing team’s MV Agusta F3 800 RR by setting the second-fastest time behind Dirk Geiger. The second qualifying session was disrupted by rain, meaning there were no changes in the grid positions. Following yet another engine change in Geiger’s Yamaha at Oschersleben – which resulted in penalties – the Mannheim rider had the ‘honour’ of starting from the pit lane in the first Assen race as well, which in turn would have meant pole position for Luca Göttlicher. But no such luck. As he – like Blin, a repeat offender this weekend – had once exceeded the 60 km/h speed limit in the aforementioned pit lane by 12 km/h, he too was demoted three places on the grid, though this was a flaw that could be rectified.

Gifts from the competition

And that’s exactly how the first race played out. For a long time, Lehmann led ahead of Blin, with Göttlicher remaining within striking distance. However, the ‘Geiger Express’ was closing in from behind. After Lehmann crashed on the final lap and Blin, Göttlicher and Geiger had closed the gap, a showdown – typical of Assen – unfolded between the Geert-Timmer-Bocht, the final chicane, and the finish line. Blin crossed the line first ahead of Geiger and Göttlicher, but as the Pole had received a late long-lap penalty – which was converted into a three-second penalty – the final order was Geiger ahead of Göttlicher and Blin.

In Sunday’s race, Göttlicher had no realistic chance of making it onto the podium under his own steam, but as a commanding fourth, he was once again ‘Best of the Rest’. In the championship standings, despite having raced one race fewer (Sachsenring), he has now climbed to fifth place. He is still one point behind Marvin Siebdrath in fourth.

Set-up work no easy task

“Right from the start of the weekend, we were very much up there at the front, so the priority was to finish in the top three. However, with a few ups and downs and the difficult weather conditions (even Sunday’s warm-up couldn’t really be used for set-up work due to morning rain, editor’s note), that wasn’t exactly straightforward,” said Luca Göttlicher afterwards in an interview with SPEEDWEEK.com.

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He added, in more concrete terms: “The first race definitely went very, very well. In the second race, we wanted to pick up the pace a bit again, but we didn’t quite manage that. We got a bit off track with the set-up there, but at least we turned it into a solid race.”

It should be noted that the Luca Göttlicher/LJ Racing/MV Agusta collaboration is still a fledgling project and the learning process – which is constant anyway, but all the more intense for rookies – is still in full swing. “Yes, exactly. But for us, it’s already a privilege to be right up there at the front. Basically, we’re trying out a lot of things, and the team still needs to really gel. We get on very well, but it would actually take a whole year to really click. Apparently, though, it was possible a bit sooner than that, so we’re already doing quite well.”

Market value on the rise

His three podium finishes so far this year – in Race 1 at Most (his only one) and Race 2 at Oschersleben – were also down to special circumstances. In the Czech Republic, Blin completely faltered and was also slowed down by a loose handlebar stem. On the Börde circuit, Geiger had to chase the field from the pit lane for the first time. What’s still missing to reach the podium under our own steam? “Not much. Actually, I’d say we’re almost there. For example, here in the second race, we were just a small step away from the right set-up; otherwise, I probably could have fought even harder for a podium place. But sometimes you just have to let it go.”

The instructor – who can be booked by amateur racers for Art-Motor racing training sessions – cannot and does not yet wish to say whether he’ll continue in the same set-up next year. He simply says: “It’s always a bit of a negotiation game, but in principle we’re already a team that’s gelled quite well. The whole set-up is also very, very important to me, so that I can simply ride freely.” The fact is, however, that his market value has risen further.