BMW MOTORRAD MOTORSPORT GAINS MORE VALUABLE EXPERIENCE AT MOTORLAND ARAGÓN
Alcañiz. BMW Motorrad Motorsport gained more valuable experience for the further development of the BMW M 1000 RR at the tenth of this season’s twelve events in the FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK).
Michael van der Mark (NED) ended qualifying in 14th place. The opening race on Saturday evening saw many changes of position and Van der Mark climbed into the top ten around the midway point of the race, but then dropped back a little and ended the race in 13th place.
Michael ended in 14th place in the Superpole race on Sunday morning, but the Dutchman was subsequently promoted to 13th following a penalty awarded to another rider.
In the second main race on Sunday afternoon, Van der Mark rocketed into the top ten at the start and was still running there until Garrett Gerloff (USA / Bonovo action BMW Racing Team) passed him shortly before the finish. Van der Mark ultimately crossed the line just a few tenths of a second behind Gerloff in eleventh.
The eleventh and penultimate round of the 2023 WorldSBK season takes place this weekend (29th September to 1st October) at Portimão (POR).
Michael van der Mark, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team (SP: 14 / R01: 13 / SP Race: 13 / R02: 11): “This morning, we made a change to the bike and I felt comfortable with it. I was quite consistent in the warm-up. In the Superpole race, we tried the SCQ tyre because we had nothing to lose and honestly, I felt good but I just couldn’t really overtake people in front of me and I was missing some confidence to attack so I am not really happy with my Superpole race. But in race two, I had a really good start and a good pace right from the beginning. I could stay with a couple of guys and I was happy with the bike. After a couple of laps I started to struggle at the entries but the pace was still okay. Unfortunately I struggled more in the end and I got passed. But anyway, we made some good progress in race two and I start to feel better and better on the race distances so I am quite happy that.”