While he will compete in his 117th Grand Prix this weekend in Japan, the 23-year-old German rider, born in Bad Reichenhall on May 3, 1996, has just been announced for next season as a starter for Kawasaki Puccetti Racing , which is in practice the official representative of Kawasaki in the Supersport World Championship.
Son of Peter Öttl, winner of 5 GPs in 80 and 125 cm3 between 1989 and 1996, third in the 80 cm3 World Championship in 1989 on Krauser, the young Philipp raced in the ADAC Junior Cup (in 2009), then in Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, in the German IDM 125GP Championship and in CEV Moto3.
He then competed in the Valencia GP in 2012, then 6 full seasons in the Moto3 World Championship, always with a KTM engine, either in an Austrian in-house chassis or in a Kalex frame. He has won one victory (at Jerez in 2018) during his 104 GPs contested in Moto3. His best final result was tenth place in the world in 2017.
This year he is running Moto2 – still on KTM – within the French Red Bull KTM Tech 3 team, but did not score a single point. With his best result being an eighteenth place in Austin, it became obvious that his future in GP was compromised. Like others before him, he therefore chose to head towards the Supersport World Championship. He will be in a very good team, but he will have to eagerly whip his Kawasaki, as he does so well Lucas Mahias, to get ahead of the Yamahas.
According to the opinion of Manuel Puccetti, the team manager, “It is a pleasure to continue our collaboration with Lucas Mahias in 2020. He is one of the strongest drivers in the intermediate class and my team is confident that we can win the title with him next year. »
“We will also welcome Philipp Öttl, 23 years old and who will come from the Moto2 World Championship after many years spent in Moto3. He's a young driver, very fast. I think he will adapt quickly to our bike and we will do our best to help him in his career with our Ninja Supersport. »
According to Steve Guttridge, Kawasaki Europe Racing Manager, “We have had some complicated seasons in WorldSSP but the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing team has always worked hard to find solutions to victory. We are delighted to remain in this category next year and welcome Phillip Öttl.
“We have seen how much Lucas has worked and progressed this year to adapt to the characteristics of our Ninja ZX-6R. His victory at Magny-Cours confirms that we are ready to fight for the title in 2020, together, with this new teammate. »
Photos © Kawasaki Racing
