Positive Steps for Van Der Mark in USA

[totalmotorcycle]

Positive Steps for Van Der Mark in #USA


Michael van der Mark took his @Honda #CBR1000RR #Fireblade SP to eighth and seventh place finishes respectively in today’s two ninth-round World Superbike championship races at Laguna Seca in the USA.

Michael van der MarkzoomMichael van der Mark Michael van der MarkzoomMichael van der Mark
Both 25-lap races were won by British rider Chaz Davies as van der Mark, 22, got two good starts from a lowly 15th place on the grid. Race one turned out to be a relatively lonely affair, the Dutch rider finishing in eighth place, nine seconds behind Pata Honda team-mate Sylvain Guintoli.

Guintoli himself enjoyed an impressive start in the first outing, running as high as fifth in the early stages after starting from ninth place on the grid. The reigning World Superbike champion eventually finished seventh.

Rain threatened the 3.61km Laguna circuit for race two and, indeed, spots began falling early in the race but they amounted to nothing. However, during the uncertainty and following a solid start, Guintoli was jostling for position towards the end of lap two when Alex Lowes entered pit lane, colliding with the 33-year-old Frenchman. Guintoli damaged his right thumb in the ensuing crash but was otherwise unhurt.

Van der Mark was left to fly the Pata Honda flag alone, bringing his CBR home in a creditable seventh place. He leaves California immediately to fly to Japan where he is targeting a third successive victory in the iconic Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race next Sunday.

Sylvain GuintolizoomSylvain Guintoli Sylvain GuintolizoomSylvain Guintoli
Honda Rider Comments
Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Superbike Team)
Race result: 8th/7th“It’s been quite a difficult weekend and, together with trying to learn this amazing circuit, we have struggled to get the bike set up properly, so I had to come a long way from 15th on the grid. I made a really good start in the first race and moved forward about five places. But I couldn’t keep up with the guys in front of me and ended up in a lonely and boring race for eighth. In race two I had another good start and had a better feeling with the CBR. I was able to keep pushing throughout the race so, in the end, I’m quite happy to get two solid top ten finishes. I’m in a good frame of mind for the 8 Hours now, which I’m really looking forward to.”Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda World Superbike Team)
Race result: 7th / DNF“I had a really good start to race one but I wasn’t able to keep the pace after the first few laps. I felt I was losing out on corner exit and having to try really hard to make it up on the brakes, which was difficult. In race two, the start was OK but on lap two I was lining up to pass into the last corner when [Alex] Lowes entered the pit lane without any signal and I crashed. It was a really, really upsetting way to finish the weekend, but we’ll just have to come back fighting in Sepang in two weeks.”Pieter Breddels“Sylvain had a great start in race one but he had to drop the pace a little bit and finished seventh, which was OK, but we all want to be closer to the front, of course. On the second lap of race two he collided with Alex Lowes who decided to pit when Sylvain was on the left-hand side, which was the wrong side for him. That was a very unfortunate way to finish the weekend. Michael had to come from a long way back in 15th on the grid but got a really good start in race one. He immediately jumped to tenth place and finished in a lonely eighth. He had quite a good race two and was a long time behind Canepa but eventually passed him and got away, but by then the front runners were gone. Considering his starting position, eighth and seventh are two solid results and we’ll take those to the next round.”
Michael van der MarkzoomMichael van der Mark

World Superbike and World Supersport 2015
Round 09: Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca – U.S.A

Superbike Race 1


Rank

Rider (Team)

1 C. DAVIES (Aruba.it Racing-Ducati SBK Team)
2 T. SYKES (Kawasaki Racing Team)
3 J. REA (Kawasaki Racing Team)
4 D. GIUGLIANO (Aruba.it Racing-Ducati SBK Team)
5 J. TORRES (Aprilia Racing Team - Red Devils)
6 A. LOWES (VOLTCOM Crescent Suzuki)
7 S. GUINTOLI (PATA Honda World Superbike Team)
8 M. VD MARK (PATA Honda World Superbike Team)

Superbike Race 2


Rank

Rider (Team)

1 C. DAVIES (Aruba.it Racing-Ducati SBK Team)
2 T. SYKES (Kawasaki Racing Team)
3 J. REA (Kawasaki Racing Team)
4 J. TORRES (Aprilia Racing Team - Red Devils)
5 L. HASLAM (Aprilia Racing Team - Red Devils)
6 A. BADOVINI (BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team)
7 M. VD MARK (PATA Honda World Superbike Team)
RT S. GUINTOLI (Aruba.it Racing-Ducati SBK Team