MAGNY-COURS UP NEXT FOR PATA YAMAHA
The Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team are looking forward to returning to action at round eleven of the 2017 FIM Superbike World Championship in Magny-Cours, France this weekend following a successful one-day test after the last round in Portugal. Michael van der Mark is ready to get back to racing after a weekend in the public eye at Aragon, hoping to build on the form that saw him score his maiden Yamaha podium last time out in Portugal.
Van der Mark has an excellent record at Magny-Cours, standing on the podium in 2016 and never finishing outside of the top five at the circuit in WorldSBK. His past form at the track, plus a successful test on Monday in Portimao, bodes well for the 24-year-old to continue his excellent run of results that saw him finish the two races at Portimao in fifth and second respectively, recording his first Yamaha podium in the process.
The Dutch rider is looking forward to getting back to racing in WorldSBK after spending the weekend in the media spotlight at the Aragon GP as the replacement rider for Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi, with van der Mark not called into action in the end. He is currently sixth in the WorldSBK Championship standings with 166 points, just three points behind his teammate Lowes and ten points ahead of Xavi Forés in seventh.
Michael van der Mark: “I cannot wait to get back on my Pata Yamaha R1 at Magny-Cours! It is a circuit I really like and I think it will really suit the characteristics of the R1. Portimao was a good weekend for me and it was great to get my first Yamaha podium, which is the least the team and Yamaha deserve after all their hard work this season. A result like that can give you confidence, as you know you belong on the podium, plus we worked on a few things at the test that, we believe, mean we can arrive at most tracks with a good base setup and hit the ground running on Friday’s. After everything that has been going on, I am looking forward to getting back to business at Magny-Cours and, as always, I will give it my all!”