GoEleven Ducati, Philipp Oettl unveil 2022 WorldSBK colours
Philipp Oettl and GoEleven Ducati have officially unveiled their 2022 WorldSBK colours during a presentation in Cherasco, Italy.
A former Moto3, Moto2 and more recently WorldSSP rider, Oettl will be stepping up to a premier class championship for the first time in his career.
Oettl, who replaces Chaz Davies after the long-time Ducati rider brought a glittering Superbike career to an end in 2021, will take part in his second WorldSBK test on March 15-16 at Misano.
While none of the upcoming tests are classified as official Dorna-run events - except the final pre-season test on April 4-5 (Aragon) - the Misano and Catalunya test (March 25-26) will see Oettl in action alongside most of the 2022 grid.
Joining the German rider on-track at Misano will be fellow Ducati riders Luca Bernardi (rookie) and the full factory Aruba.it Ducati team of Alvaro Bautista and Michael Rinaldi,
LIke GoEleven Ducati, Barni Spark Racing and Aruba.it will be officially unveiling their 2022 Panigale V4-R machines for the first time this week.
After finishing third in the 2020 WorldSSP championship as a rookie, Oettl slipped down two fifth place in 2021, despite an even stronger season.
Competing on a much less favoured Kawasaki ZX-6R compared to the title winning Yamaha R6 which won 20 of 21 races, Oettl managed to claim seven podiums which was best of any Kawasaki rider, while also finishing highest in the championship standings.
The 2022 season will also mark the first time Oettl competes on Ducati machinery after spending his professional career with KTM (Grand Prix) and Kawasaki (WorldSSP).