Superpole disaster for Philipp Öttl (Ducati): crash, 11th-row starting position

Philipp Öttl had to wait almost two months for the 2026 Supersport World Championship to resume, but the Ducati rider hadn’t expected such a start at Magny-Cours: Initially, the Bavarian secured third place in free practice with a strong lap time of 1:40.307, but he made a mistake in the crucial qualifying session. Following a crash at Turn 12 on his first flying lap, his bike was so badly damaged that he spent the rest of the session in the pits.

Thanks to his performance in the morning, Öttl is allowed to take part in the race even without a timed lap, though his starting position is right at the back – 32nd on the eleventh row. Behind him is only Simon Jespersen, who was penalised for disregarding yellow flags.

“FP1 went well. I felt very comfortable on the bike after such a long break and was pleased to finish third. As for qualifying, I’m really sorry for the team, because it was my mistake,” the Ducati rider admitted candidly. “I felt good on the bike and went flat out straight away, but I crashed on my very first lap. There’s nothing more to say about it. I felt good, tried to go full throttle straight away, and went a bit over the limit.”

Philipp Öttl could make significant improvements for the second race

It’s a stroke of luck for Öttl that, from 2024 onwards, the starting grid for the second race for the top nine will be based on Saturday’s fastest lap. So if the 30-year-old manages a suitably fast lap, even pole position could be on the cards.

“Beyond that, the aim is to score points,” writes Öttl, who isn’t writing off the first race on Saturday afternoon just yet. “First of all, though, we need to repair the bike and make the most of the warm-up. After that, we’ll see what we can achieve in the race. This circuit offers plenty of overtaking opportunities, but I’ll have to fight my way through the field quickly. We definitely have the pace, but we also need to make up positions quickly.”

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