Donington Park WorldSBK: Philipp Oettl says “it’s time to show results” amid rumours surrounding his Ducati future
Philipp Oettl says he has the bike to challenge for podiums and that only results will dictate his WorldSBK future.
In his second year with the GoEleven Ducati team, Oettl has made progress compared to his rookie season although he regularly finds himself as the fourth or fifth best Ducati in terms of WorldSBK results.
Alvaro Bautista, Michael Ruben Rinaldi, Axel Bassani and Danilo Petrucci have all claimed at least one podium this season, whereas Oettl is yet to do so.
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The German rider is aware that he has a bike good enough to do so and that he must begin showing that type of potential, despite the level in Superbikes being higher than ever.
"If we speak about the contract situation, now is the time where I need to show results. At the moment I feel as though I have the package to show what I can do.
"For sure, a podium would be helpful but you have to be realistic. I hope that some top tens and some top fives is what the team demands and what I want as well.
"But you also have to consider that the championship is at a really high level at the moment. It’s not so easy but I feel good.
"I’m always very honest, and at the moment I need good results. Top nine, top eight - this is what we need and what we already achieved earlier in the season.
"I have to do this to show that I’m a good rider and that I deserve a Ducati. A Ducati is a very valuable bike and the team is a very good team.
"They support me very well. I would like to stay but I think a lot of other riders want to go into this team."
Making it tough to achieve top fives and even top tens is the fact that WorldSBK is closer than ever, except at the front where Bautista has won 16 out of 18 races.
Toprak Razgatlioglu has also been a step ahead of every other rider, as Oettl admitted that there are no easy riders to beat in WorldSBK anymore.
"The top ten is so difficult to achieve," said Oettl. "Maybe from the outside it looks easy but if you see all the riders in the top 20 in WorldSBK, who is a slow rider? Who is easy to beat?
"But at the moment we have a good package that we can rely on and I think the base is good."
