PATA YAMAHA PUSH TOWARDS PODIUM IN BARCELONA RACE 1
The Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Official Team with Rizla came close to the podium, with riders Michael van der Mark and Toprak Razgatlıoğlu finishing fourth and sixth respectively at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya today.
Van der Mark had a positive morning to qualify P5 and on the second row of the grid, even without a “perfect” lap by his own admission. At the start of Race 1, both Pata Yamaha riders made a play for the top three but Van der Mark lost stability under braking for the first turn, and was forced to dive to the inside of Razgatlıoğlu. In avoiding a collision, the pair had ground to make up in the following laps while managing the available grip levels for the full 20-lap race distance. Engaging in battles throughout, Van der Mark crossed the line only 1.5 seconds from the podium.
Michael van der Mark: P4: “Superpole went pretty well, I did a good run with the option tyre and didn’t feel really so good with it even if the times were consistent. Then we put the Q tyre on and I didn’t feel like my lap was amazing, but to qualify P5 on the grid was close to what we needed. I had a good start in the race but I struggled with stopping the bike and I ran wide into T1. To be honest, I didn’t have the rear grip I was expecting and it was frustrating to see the guys edging slowly away from me at the front. I tried to stay with them as long as possible and just couldn’t push more. In the end, I gained two places because with the R1 we’re really strong in the slow section and I kept it consistent, so I’m happy with that. For tomorrow we need to find more grip and then we can really fight with the guys for the podium.”