Son of Grand Prix rider Peter Öttl, Philipp started in the ADAC Junior Cup in 2009 and proved himself in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup before finishing eleventh in the Valencia GP in his first Moto3 race on a Kalex KTM in 2012.
He then spent six seasons in Moto3, two on Kalex KTM and four on KTM. Winner of the Spanish Moto3 Grand Prix in 2018, he obtained his best ranking in the World Championship in 2017 with tenth place in the final.
A single season in Moto2 was then fatal to his future, when he was mired in the maelstrom of KTM Moto2. He scored zero points with his Austrian in 2019 and headed intelligently towards the Supersport World Championship, within the Puccetti team which took Kenan Sofuoglu to the world title.
However, we should not blame everything on the KTM because Brad Binder (factory, it is true) finished second in the Championship, while Marco Bezzecchi – Öttl's teammate at Tech 3 – scored 17 points and saved his 2020 season with the Sky VR46 Racing team.
« Marco Bezzecchi and Philipp Öttl had the KTM V5 version, which entered the competition roughly from Assen, explained Hervé Poncharal. The KTM V6 was only available to Brad Binder and Jorge Martin. »
“Switching from Honda engines to Triumph engines, the 2019 Kalex became faster and the KTM slower » was Philipp Öttl's diagnosis.
“I could tell you a lot of things. But that doesn't matter anymore. I got the first update in Austria. I rode the V5 frame like Marco. »
After missing Assen and the Sachsenring. He returned to Brno. “ There I sat on a racing motorcycle for the first time in two months », remembers Öttl. " He Took me a while to get back into the swing of things. But in Austria we had our best race. I finished 22nd – ahead of Bezzecchi and Lowes and lost 34 seconds to the winner. » Öttl has never lost less than 30 seconds to the winner in the entire Moto2 season.
Philipp Öttl does not hide the fact that the transition from the 3 cc Moto250 with 3 horsepower to the 55 cc Moto2 with around 765 hp was more difficult than expected. “Basically, everything is: the tires, the weight and the power. If you've never sat on a heavy motorcycle before… Before the first test with Triumph engines in November 2018, I sat on a heavy motorcycle for exactly two days. It was September 2018 in Aragón, when I tried the KTM Moto2 600 cc. I certainly had less experience with big bikes in 3 than the competition. »
“The Tech3 team has a lot of experience in Moto2, despite the regulation changes. Of course, at the beginning you listen to the team. After a while, you see how everything works out. Then there was a lot of other advice, and it was difficult to differentiate what was useful and what wasn't. My team leader and the data logging technician made helpful suggestions. I asked other pilots about this. For example to my teammate Marco Bezzecchi, because he changed quickly. His database was Bagnaia, who told him how to drive. It was a good fit. But with my driving style, there was a lot to adjust…”
“I think the Moto2 year will help me a lot in the Supersport World Championship in 2020. I learned a lot in Moto2 in general by dealing with heavy bikes. These bikes need a different approach. »
Philipp Öttl's lack of form was already evident in the 3 Moto2018 World Championship, where he collected just 23 points in the remaining 15 races after winning Jerez.
Philipp rode for Papa Peter Öttl's Schedl KTM team, which entered into a joint venture with Max Biaggi and Arón Canet for 2019. Our team collapsed in the summer of 2018 », remembers Philipp. “My self-confidence was already gone after the 3 Moto2018 season. Self-confidence is pretty lacking at the moment. Of course, I had already signed elsewhere for 2020, but I didn't want to be accused of not making an effort. You don't do that. No racing driver can afford that” concluded the Bavarian.
Photos © Tech 3
source: Speedweek. com
