Puccetti Racing Confirms 2020 WorldSSP Plans
With two rounds still to run in the WorldSSP Championship in 2019 the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing team is now in a position to announce its 2020 rider line-up.
Lucas Mahias, a recent race winner at his home round of the 2019 WorldSSP championship, will continue for a second year in Kawasaki colours.
The 2017 World Champion, along with his experienced team, has identified and maximised the key characteristics of Ninja ZX-6R, which have now culminated in his breakthrough win in green. Remaining in his current set-up should allow him an even more consistent title challenge in 2020.
Joining Lucas in the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing pit garage next season will be current Moto2 rider, Philipp Öttl, from Germany. At 23-years of age Öttl has accepted a new challenge inside the overall WorldSBK paddock, after many years of racing inside the MotoGP system. He had followed in the footsteps of his father, Peter, who was also a regular in the smaller capacity Grands Prix classes in the late 1980s and early ‘90s.
Philipp has won races in both the Rookies’ Cup and Moto3 classes. He started his first Moto3 race in 2012, but became a regular from the 2013 season. A Moto3 race win at Jerez came as recently as the 2018 season and his current campaign in Moto2 has already given him experience of middleweight engine power.
Manuel Puccetti, Team Manager, stated: “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 Öttl, 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.”
Steve Guttridge, Kawasaki Europe Racing Manager, stated: “We have had a tough couple of seasons in WorldSSP but our Kawasaki Puccetti Racing team have always pushed hard to find solutions for victory. We are pleased to remain in this category again for the 2020 season and welcome Philipp Öttl. We have seen a continuous improvement from Lucas this first season as he worked hard on both himself and adapting to the characteristics of the Ninja ZX-6R. His win in Magny Cours confirmed our joint feeling that we are ready to fight again for the title in 2020 season, together with his new team-mate.”