Philipp Öttl is baffled after the Misano debacle: what held his Ducati V2 back?

With a strong qualifying session and fourth on the grid, Philipp Öttl had set himself up perfectly for a good first race at the Misano World Circuit last weekend. However, the Bavarian only made it as far as the second lap on Saturday before being taken out by Matteo Ferrari. As Philipp was able to return to the track six laps down after his bike had been repaired, and subsequently set the sixth-fastest time, he secured that very same second-row starting position for the second race.

“After the two days of testing at Misano, we were perfectly prepared for the race weekend,” said the 30-year-old. “We had legitimate hopes of podium finishes in both races. The crash in the first race, through no fault of my own, was very frustrating; in the second, my Ducati wouldn’t handle as usual right from the start.”

Öttl was overtaken repeatedly over the 18 laps, dropping down to 15th place, and ended the weekend on the Adriatic coast with a paltry single World Championship point. Although he is still fifth in the overall standings, the gap to the podium places is growing ever wider and the competition is closing in from behind.

A detailed analysis of the data is still ongoing

It is not yet possible to say exactly what went wrong on Sunday. The team packed up on Sunday evening in Misano and drove home; when SPEEDWEEK.com spoke to Öttl on Tuesday, no analysis was yet available. “From my point of view, everything was in place for us to ride well,” noted the Assen winner. “But the bike already felt strange on the way to the starting grid. That was odd; I can’t explain it. The bike had always been good to ride throughout the race weekend; I don’t know what caused the problem in the second race. I’ve ridden in plenty of races, but I haven’t often experienced anything like this. During the roll-out phase, I couldn’t get any direction and had to constantly take wide lines; I lacked the feel for the front wheel to hold the line. Only a detailed data analysis can reveal exactly where that came from.”

I’m a realist and I look at everything.

Philipp Öttl

It’s striking that Saturday’s winner Valentin Debise (ZX Moto) and World Championship fourth-placed rider Can Öncü (Ten Kate Yamaha) also faced unusual difficulties on Sunday, when temperatures were at their highest, finishing only ninth and tenth respectively. “Of course the bike feels different in the heat,” mused Öttl. “But I think we can rule that out. I’m a realist and I look at everything. Up until then, we’d been fast and consistent all weekend. We had at least the same pace as in Australia and Assen, even if the results don’t reflect that. Apart from the races, I was right up there and in the top six. That’s why I’m sceptical and can’t explain it – it bothers me. When you get a result like this, you have to find out what caused it.”