Oettl finds 'set-up, ergonomics, riding style' improvements aboard Panigale V4 R

Philipp Oettl says riding a WorldSBK machine is ‘quite complex’ despite an impressive performance during last week’s two day Portimao test. 

The German rider, who steps up to WorldSBK following a fifth place finish in last season’s WorldSSP championship, made his GoEleven Ducati debut alongside Aruba.it Racing riders Alvaro Bautista and Michael Rinaldi and fellow rookie Luca Bernardi was also in action for Barni Spark Ducati. 

After finishing seventh on day one, Oettl managed to make that P6 during the final day as he finished ahead of Rinaldi who was struggling with back pain. 

Despite suffering a crash on used tyres, Oettl was particularly impressive over race distance, while his best effort put him 1.4s off Toprak Razgatlioglu’s new unofficial lap record - 1:39.616s. 

With Oettl switching from Kawasaki to Ducati machinery in 2022, the former grand prix rider focused most of the test on adapting the ergonomics of the Panigale V4 R, while finding a base set-up was also a primary focus for the 25 year-old. 

Speaking after the test, Oettl added: "The first day of testing was more about getting to know the bike, the electronic set-up, the work with the team and starting to concentrate on the ergonomics. 

"The second day we started focusing on the ergonomics again with different handlebars, seat position and testing a new higher seat. It seemed that we found a quite good set-up for me, I felt quite comfortable on the bike. 

"When we tried the “old” qualifying tyre I had a small crash, but nothing too serious. After that I was able to improve again with the race tyre. At the end we did some practice starts too. 

"Riding the superbike is quite complex, there are many areas on which you can work, but now we have some important information regarding the riding style, regarding what is necessary to do with the Ducati Panigale V4-R. I am really happy about these two days here."