Yamaha has named its Dutch World Superbike Championship rider Michael van der Mark to replace Vale with the Italian champion's YZR-M1 for the fourteenth Grand Prix of the season which will be held on September 24 in Northern Spain. .
Van der Mark will not have a test session before the Grand Prix to get used to the machine, which will complicate his task. He has already raced 7 GPs in 125 in 2010, as well as the Assen GP in Moto2 in 2011.
To Michael Van der Mark, who are " I am delighted that Yamaha is giving me the opportunity to ride the YZR-M1 for the Aragón Grand Prix. I have never ridden this type of bike until now. So it will be a whole new experience. I'm really curious to see how it feels.
“I am well aware that it will not be easy to jump straight into the bath without even having tried it. Regardless, I am very grateful to Yamaha. I'm sure it will be an enriching experience.
According to the Director of Yamaha Motor Racing, Lin Jarvis, who are " After Valentino's crash on Thursday August 31, Yamaha decided not to replace him at the San Marino Grand Prix, but for the upcoming Aragon Grand Prix the team is forced to field two riders.
“Being virtually impossible for Valentino to be fit in Aragon, Yamaha decided to look for a capable replacement within its own group of contracted riders. Having already used Katsuyuki Nakasuga to replace Jorge Lorenzo in 2011 and Alex Lowes to replace Bradley Smith in 2016, we decided that Michael van der Mark should get the chance this time.
“It is never easy to replace another rider and even more difficult to replace Valentino Rossi, but we believe that Michael has all the qualifications and experience necessary to do a good job. We will give him our best support and wish him all the best for this exciting opportunity. We also hope that Valentino continues to make a quick recovery and that we see him again, on his YZR-M1, as soon as possible. »
Michael “Mickey” van der Mark is 24 years old. He was born on October 26, 1992 in Gouda, Netherlands. He measures 1,80 m and weighs 69 kg. His father is a large trucking company. Supersport World Champion with Honda Ten Kate, he won the title with 10 podiums in 11 races, including 6 victories. Since then he has participated in 70 races in the Superbike World Championship, with 0 victories, 9 podiums (2 second and 7 third places) and 1 pole position.
