PATA YAMAHA SIGN OFF THE EUROPEAN SEASON WITH A DOUBLE PODIUM IN MAGNY-COURS
The Pata Yamaha team signed off their Magny-Cours weekend in style with a double podium in WorldSBK Race 2 this afternoon. Michael van der Mark finished second, having disputed the lead with eventual winner Jonathan Rea for the entire race, while Alex Lowes recovered strongly from time lost avoiding a second lap crash to finish third. This stellar team performance followed another podium appearance by van der Mark, who finished third in the Superpole sprint race this morning.
Van der Mark, who was left frustrated after crashing out of the lead in WorldSBK Race 1 yesterday, bounced back strongly in this morning’s Superpole sprint race, which he led in the opening stages, but finished in third place after a close battle with his fellow podium finishers, Toprak Razgatlioglu and Rea.
The 26-year-old Dutchman rider got an equally good start from the front row of the grid in Race 2 and, together with Rea, pulled away from the rest of the field when Razgatlioglu crashed out of third place and the pursuing pack lost time taking evasive action. Van der Mark’s two podium finishes today promoted him back to fourth place in the championship standings and to within five points of his teammate Lowes in third, which was how the two Pata Yamaha riders started the Magny-Cours weekend.
Michael van der Mark – Pata Yamaha WorldSBK – P3 and P2 – Championship P4 – 274 Points: “I was happy to be back on the podium this morning after the costly mistake yesterday, but I was struggling a little bit with the bike over the 10 laps. We made some changes for the second race, which brought some improvements. I got another quick start and my pace was good, as was the battle with Johnny, where we were both pretty much on the limit. I was pushing so hard to stay in front of him but, at the end, he was just a little bit stronger. I’m really happy with the double podium today, especially after yesterday, and it was great to be up there on the podium with Alex again this afternoon. A big thanks to the team who did a great job in a weekend made difficult by the weather.”
Results
Superpole race
Race 2