PODIUM FOR VAN DER MARK AND PATA YAMAHA IN WET MAGNY-COURS SUPERPOLE RACE
Michael van der Mark fought to a third-place finish for the Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Official Team with Rizla in the FIM Superbike World Championship Tissot Superpole Race, as rain continued to lash the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in France today.
Van der Mark made a lightning start from sixth on the grid in the Superpole Race, eventually taking third at the chequered flag, his seventh podium of the season, and cemented a front-row start for Race 2. While the Dutchman hoped for a repeat performance in the afternoon, a lack of grip in the wet meant that he ultimately had to settle for fifth position.
The 2020 WorldSBK season draws to a close in a fortnight with the final round at Estoril, Portugal, starting with Free Practice on Friday 16 October.
Michael van der Mark – SPRC: P3 / Race 2: P5: “This morning in the Superpole Race, I felt really good with the Yamaha R1, it had some good improvements and I had some nice battles. On the last lap, I had a great fight with Scott [Redding] and managed to finish third, so I’m really happy with that and to be on the front row of the grid for the second race. I had an OK start in Race 2 but struggled with the front feeling and also the grip out of the slow corners throughout. I couldn’t fight with the others because they were really strong in my weak area. Then it was hard to catch up and at a certain point I was alone in the race just trying to be consistent and not make any mistakes. I finished fifth which was not bad, but we have a lot of work to do to catch Chaz [Davies] in Estoril for third in the championship.”