VAN DER MARK BEGINS 2016 SEASON WITH SUPERB PODIUM FINISH IN AUSTRALIA
The Honda WorldSBK Team successfully started its 2016 World Superbike campaign today with a podium finish scored by Michael van der Mark, who crossed the line in third place at the end of a breath-taking, 22-lap opening race of the season at Phillip Island. Van der Mark had a good launch from second row on the grid and did not shy away from battle as he swapped positions several times with factory Ducati riders Chaz Davies and Davide Giugliano. He ran as high as second and, as the race came down to the wire, he successfully defended third place from a recovering Giugliano.
Michael van der Mark (3rd): “I’m really happy with this podium! This morning we were consistently fast and I felt great on the bike. I had a really good start to the race, managed to stay with the guys and keep their pace quite easily. I was basically trying to save the rear tyre. It was such a nice fight with the guys and a really great race. I was quicker in some corners but they were better in other and this meant there were a lot of overtakes. At the end I wanted to push more but the grip at the front was just not quite there, not as much as I would have loved at least. I struggled a little bit but did my best to stay with Johnny and Chaz, while the gap with fourth position stayed the same and so I was able to bring home this podium finish. For tomorrow we need to improve just a little bit more and then we’ll see how it goes.”