VAN DER MARK MAKES POSITIVE START
Michael van der Mark made his MotoGP debut today as he confidently began his work in Malaysia in the searing heat at the Sepang International Circuit. The young Dutchman completed his first laps on the Yamaha YZR-M1 and impressed immediately as he diced with, and outpaced, some of the MotoGP regular riders. Van der Mark rounded out the day in 19th, and he will return to the track tomorrow at 09:55 local time, or 03:55 in central Europe, for FP3.
Michael van der Mark – Position 19th – Time: 2’03.473 – Laps: 28: “It has been an amazing day. This morning the weather was not ideal so I had to wait for a bit before my first outing on the MotoGP bike. Then, when I took to the track, I immediately felt quite good and I was comfortable so this morning I stayed out and enjoyed the opening session. Then, in FP2, with the rain, I felt positive and I improved step by step. For my first day, it has been a great experience but the thing that I need to work on the most is the braking because, for me, this is the biggest difference between MotoGP and WorldSBK. The brakes are really powerful and it’s more difficult to find the limit of the braking point. I will focus on this, but tomorrow I hope we have some dry track time and I just want to enjoy and improve in every session. I think I can be very happy about my first day on the YZR-M1 and I want to keep progressing.”