EUROPEAN SEASON BECKONS AS THE HONDA WORLDSBK TEAM HEADS TO ARAGON
The Honda WorldSBK Team is on its way to the Motorland Aragón circuit in Spain, the venue hosting the third round of the 2016 FIM Superbike World Championship this weekend. After an encouraging start to the new campaign in Australia and Thailand, Michael van der Mark and Nicky Hayden are now ready to tackle the maiden European event of the season, the first of six rounds scheduled to take place in the next two and a half months.
Currently third in the Championship standings and only one point away from second place, Michael van der Mark has so far shown impressive form onboard his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP. In just two rounds, the 23-year-old Dutchman was able to equal his three-podium tally from last year, while scoring his so-far best result in the series – a second place in race two at Phillip Island – and claiming his maiden WorldSBK pole position at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand.
Michael van der Mark: “I’m really looking forward to getting back on track after the really good results we scored in Australia and Thailand. What we’ve been able to achieve so far shows that we have what it takes to fight for the podium on very different tracks. I have a good feeling about the Aragon round; I like the track and the bike setup is working really well, so my goal is to have the best of weekends in Spain and be on the podium again. This would put me in a good position for my home event at Assen.”