The World Supersport Championship has gained another rider from the Moto2 World Championship with Philipp Oettl switching to the 2020 WorldSSP season with Puccetti Racing Kawasaki.
The German has been a regular in the grand prix paddock for the last few years, peaking in 2017 with a run to tenth in the Moto3 World Championship, while he also took a first win in the series in 2018 at Jerez.
For 2019, Oettl has been riding the Red Bull KTM Tech 3 in Moto2 but has struggled for form and thus far has failed to score any points. He isn’t the only rider to struggle on KTM machinery this season, with fellow rookie Jake Dixon cracking the points on just one occasion this year.
For 2020 though, Oettl switches to the WorldSSP where he joins the factory Kawasaki team alongside 2017 WorldSSP champion Lucas Mahias, who stays on for another season with ‘Team Green’.
“It’s really a pleasure to continue our collaboration 2020 in WorldSSP with Lucas. He is one of the strongest riders ever in the middleweight class and my team fully believes it can achieve the world championship with him next season.
“We warmly welcome Philipp Öettl, 23 years old from Moto2 championship and from many years in Moto3. Philipp, I believe, is a young and fast rider. I think he will adapt quickly to our bike and we will do our best to help grow up his career with our Supersport Ninja.”
Moto2 riders that have switched to WorldSSP
Ottl is the latest rider to trade in a career on the grand prix scene for a ride in WorldSSP and history shows it may be a smart idea for his career.
Sandro Cortese won the 2012 Moto3 world title but while he struggled to shine in Moto2, a move to WorldSSP brought him instant success when he won the 2018 WorldSSP title.
This year could see another Moto2 exile in Randy Krummenacher assume his mantle. The Swiss rider was a solid Moto2 rider for some years before switching to WorldSSP, even winning on his debut in 2016. He leads the 2019 standings with one round remaining.
Jules Cluzel was a race winner in Moto2 before finding success in WorldSSP – albeit via WorldSBK first – and has since notched up 20 victories.
It doesn’t always work so well going the other way though. Kenan Sofuoglu – the most successful WorldSSP rider of all time with five titles – spent one average season in Moto2 before returning to the paddock, while 2013 champion Sam Lowes has never quite fulfilled the same promise in Moto2 either.
