Best Independent Team 2020

ONE MORE ZERO, TWO CRASHES IN SUPERPOLE and WRONG TYRE CHOICE IN RACE 1!

ONE MORE ZERO, TWO CRASHES IN SUPERPOLE and WRONG TYRE CHOICE IN RACE 1!

 

This Saturday is truly one to forget, to file quickly and move on. Even if the day seemed to start in the best possible way, with a super performance in FP3, the mistakes accumulated between qualifying and the race. Double crash in Superpole, thus starting last with no valid time, and wrong choice on the grid for Race 1, when he opted for the front Rain, worried about the water that fell just before the start.

FP 3 was perhaps the best session from Australia till now; always competitive with the race tyre, an incredible speed especially in the last sector, so much so that he earned fifth position by breaking down the wall of 32.0. Constant, consistent and fast, everything bring team to think for the best from a Superpole perspective, and above all the race pace. With used tyre, the fastest lap came on lap 20.

Free Practice 3:
P 1   G. Gerloff   1.31.689
P 2   S. Redding   + 0.007
P 3   T. Razgatlioglu    + 0.073
…
P 5   P. Oettl   + 0.268

In Superpole too much will to find a good position played a bad joke; crash on the first lap like at Imola, miracle of the guys in the garage to put Philipp back on track in a few minutes, about six since he returned to the garage. Second crash and game over; no valid time and last grid position. A mistake that is difficult to accept, given the importance of qualifying in today’s Superbike, especially at Most where overtaking is not easy to do. All the work of the technical staff should be underlined, who for the second race in a row found themselves having to intervene during a session full of tension and always managed to get the rider back on track.

Superpole:
P 1    T. Razgatlioglu    1.30.801
P 2    D. Petrucci   + 0.460
P 3    R. Gardner     + 0.618
…
NQ   P. Oettl   No time set

During the Race 1 grid, the rain over the Most track intimidated the riders and workers; as always in these cases instinct counts more than reason. Philipp chooses a “safe” solution starting with the Rain in front and the intermediate on the rear. A half and a half choice that usually doesn’t pay off. And in fact, after a few good laps, recovering last, twenty-fourth to ninth, the track dries up and the completely intermediate solution adopted by many riders proves to be the right one. Philipp fights, but slips close to the points, surprisingly deciding to retire two laps from the end. That’s a pity because he could have taken a point. Unfortunately, the pit stop to change tyres would have been useless due to the excessive gap accumulated in the first laps. The races, however, must always be completed, unless there are mechanical or physical problems!

Race 1:
P 1    J. Rea    36’10.894
P 2    T. Razgatlioglu    + 4.007
P 3    D. Petrucci   + 7.939
…
DNF   P. Oettl 

A convincing redemption will be needed on Most’s Sunday. We start last but the race pace is good and the minimum goal will be to fight in the points zone! We update tomorrow!

Philipp Oettl (Rider):

“Not so much to say about today, this morning we were fast, then in Superpole i made two mistakes. I had to start last, but on the grid I choose the wrong tyres and I couldn’t do anything in Race. Rain tyre in the front was a disaster and it didn’t make sense to finish the race. There is not a lot to say, i am really disappointed, the team deserve a good result and i know i have the potential to achieve it, but today it’s just a day to forget!”

Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager):

“Today started well and in qualifying too much eagerness to take a good position on the grid led to a mistake, with two crashes and this placed us last, without a valid time. The choice of tyre on the starting grid it was a bet, we could have gambled or not, but I’m not happy with the decision to go back to the box two laps from the end, races should always come to the end when possible!”

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