TOP-SIX RESULTS AND INJURY WOES FOR BMW MOTORRAD MOTORSPORT IN MANDALIKA
- Round two of the FIM Superbike World Championship 2023 in Mandalika, Indonesia.
- Sixth place for Michael van der Mark in race one.
- Van der Mark injures his left hand in race two.
Mandalika – Round two of the FIM Superbike World Championship 2023 (WorldSBK) at Mandalika, Indonesia, began with promising results on Saturday. Race one saw Michael van der Mark (NED) from the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team finish sixth after an impressive fightback. Sunday, however, turned out to be a wretched day with misfortune in the races and injuries. Loris Baz fractured his right leg in an incident in the Superpole race, while van der Mark crashed and injured his left hand in race two.
Van der Mark fought back impressively in race one on Saturday afternoon. Having lost a number of positions in the early stages, he then gradually battled his way back from 14th place. The Dutchman lay eighth entering the penultimate lap and proceeded to gain another two places. Van der Mark produced his fastest lap on the final lap of the race and crossed the finish line sixth.
The Superpole race on Sunday morning had to be suspended after just one lap. Two riders collided and the victim was Baz, who was taken out by a crashing rider. Van der Mark ended the Superpole race in eighth, improving his grid position for race two. Race two also proved to be a dramatic affair. On lap seven, Van der Mark crashed out with a highside. Philipp Öttl (GER / Ducati), who was right behind the Dutchman at the time, also hit the deck. The race was red flagged. Van der Mark was examined in the medical centre where he was diagnosed with two fractured fingers on his left hand.
WorldSBK now has a few weeks off, before the European leg of the season gets underway with round three from 21st to 23rd April at Assen, Netherlands. BMW Motorrad Motorsport will travel to Barcelona (ESP) for tests during the break.
Michael van der Mark, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team (SP: 10 / R01: 6 / SP Race: 8 / R02: DNF): “I think today was not so bad. In this morning’s sprint race, my first start was okay but my second start wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be. It is difficult to pass on this circuit. To finish eighth in the Superpole race wasn’t that bad because our main target was to gain some positions for the grid of race two. I had a good start but experienced some issues when I tried to shift so I lost some positions. I tried to stay calm and started to go forward step by step. I had a good rhythm but I knew that with the tyre I chose, I would get better towards the end of the race. Unfortunately then in turn 11, I just entered, lost the rear and had a massive highside. It was a shame because I think we could have done a good job again, especially towards the end of the race. But it’s like that. I am quite okay, I just have a small fracture in my finger.”