STRONG OPENING DAY IN JEREZ FOR VAN DER MARK
Michael van der Mark led the way for Yamaha on the opening day Jerez, with the Pata Yamaha WorldSBK rider topping the timesheet in FP1 before finally finishing in second place, just two-tenths off the time of provisional pole sitter, Alvaro Bautista. Van der Mark and his team mate Alex Lowes made their mark early in Jerez, with the Pata Yamaha pairing making it a Yamaha one-two at the top of the timesheet in FP1. Both Pata Yamaha riders also used today’s two free practice session to confirm their findings from last week’s Misano test, with positive results.
Results
Free Practices Combined Results
Michael van der Mark – Pata Yamaha WorldSBK – P2 – 1’39.654: “It’s been a really positive opening day and I felt good with the bike from the start. The changes we tested in Misano really seem to have worked and that inspired a lot of confidence in the R1. We knew this afternoon would be interesting once the track temperature went up, so we wanted to see how the bike reacted to that. Again, I was quick from the start, but we still need to do a bit more work to improve on the brakes, as I’m still struggling a little to get the bike stopped. But, overall, I’m really happy with the first day here in Jerez.”