VAN DER MARK CONFIDENT FOR IMOLA RACES
Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team riders Michael van der Mark and Alex Lowes head to Italy this weekend for round five of the 2017 FIM Superbike World Championship at the legendary Imola circuit, looking to build on the excellent progress they have made so far this season. At the last round in Assen the 2017 Yamaha YZF-R1 once again showed its potential in race two with Van der Mark and Lowes finishing in fourth and fifth positions respectively. The team now wants to continue their encouraging start to the season with another good performance in Italy, as they look to secure their first podium of the season.
Michael had a memorable home round in Assen last time out. Despite a disappointing Saturday Race 1, he bounced back in incredible style on Sunday in front of his passionate home crowd to secure an impressive fourth place from 11th on the grid. The 23-year-old scythed his way through the field to the delight of the vociferous fans and is now sixth in the championship standings with 62 points, just 14 behind his teammate Lowes. This is van der Mark’s first race at the legendary Italian track for Yamaha, with the Dutch rider looking to continue the impressive start to the season he has made on his Pata Yamaha R1.
Michael van der Mark: “I am looking forward to Imola. It was a hectic weekend at Assen, but in the end the result was really good. I hope we can continue our form and fight for the top 5 again. Imola is a completely different track compared to the tracks we have been to so far, so I’m curious to see how the R1 will work here with the base setup we have. I’m confident we can have a good weekend.”