BMW MOTORRAD MOTORSPORT CONCLUDES EUROPEAN WORLDSBK SEASON WITH TOP EIGHT FINISHES IN PORTIMÃO
BMW Motorrad Motorsport concluded the European season in the FIM Superbike World Championship with top eight finishes. Michael van der Mark ended the first race on Saturday in 14th place. On Sunday morning Van der Mark moved up from 20th to eighth place during the ten-lap Superpole Race. In the second and last main race of the weekend, Michael crossed the finish line in twelfth.
The race weekend was overshadowed by the serious injuries sustained by Dutch rider Victor Steeman in an accident in the Supersport 300 class.
Portimão was the ninth and final European event of the year. The tenth round of the WorldSBK season will take place in two weeks (21st to 23rd October) in San Juan, Argentina. The final events will then follow in Indonesia and Australia.
Michael van der Mark, BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team (SP: 20 / R01: 14 / SP Race: 8 / R02: 12): “We made a massive change compared to yesterday with the bike. The warm-up felt okay. In the Superpole Race, I had an amazing start, gained a lot of places, and immediately felt that I had a really good pace. We decided to go with the SC0 tyre to keep the distance and also because I just need more time with the bike. At the end, it was the right choice for us. We were really fast in the Superpole Race. It makes life a little bit easier to start from P8 in race two. I had a good start, just got tangled up in a few moments of the first lap. To be honest, I didn’t have the best grip from the start. I dropped a few positions because I couldn’t stay with the guys in front of me. In the end I had a solid pace, I was not incredible fast but also not slow. I calmed down a bit and got more miles under the belt. It was good to finish the race and to score another few points.”