VAN DER MARK NINTH IN CHALLENGING IMOLA RACE 2
Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team’s Michael van der Mark worked to the limit to cross the line in ninth and claimed another top 10 finish on his Yamaha YZF-R1 in today’s second WorldSBK race at Imola. The original race was red-flagged after just one lap and after the restart Van der Mark lost out off the line and found himself in seventh by the first corner. After an early race battle with team mate Alex Lowes for sixth, he became involved in a scrap for seventh with Eugene Laverty in the latter stages.
The Dutch rider had made a few changes to his R1 in an effort to close the gap to the guys at the front, but unfortunately it didn’t quite pay off as he struggled to find his normal consistent rhythm and Laverty passed the 23-year-old on lap 12. Fighting as hard as he could Van der Mark rode strongly towards the end of the race, but lost out in the last few corners to Jordi Torres, crossing the line in 9th, less than two-tenths behind the Spaniard. In the process, he collected 7 points and now sits seventh in the championship standings with 78 points.
Michael van der Mark: “We struggled quite a lot during the race. This morning I thought we had made a big step forward in Warm Up, but in the race, it didn’t really work out. It was a tough race and it was difficult to be consistent. We knew that it would be difficult, but I was hoping we had made a big step forward. We must be happy with the points and up next is Donington, which will suit the bike better. It is a nice track to ride, so hopefully we can continue the form we had before Imola. We will never stop working to improve, so I am really looking forward to Donington.”
Results
Warm Up