BMW went through all the feelings in this first WSBK race in Indonesia this Saturday. First there was the fright with its official driver Scott Redding who abandoned in the pits amidst the sound and fury that the cameras did not miss. Then it was happiness that followed with his second rider Van der Mark who brought his M1000RR up to sixth place, thus making the Bavarian coat of arms third in the standings of the event, ahead of Honda but also Kawasaki…
Michael Van der Mark stays the course in this WSBK meeting at Mandalika. After an encouraging Friday, the Dutchman started his Saturday with the top 10 hanging in Super poles, a position which opens up perspectives for the race. Exactly, the first brought him the satisfaction of seeing the top 5 at the finish. But also to bring the Kawasaki, despite fierce resistance from the six-time title Jonathan Rhea in view of the checkered flag.
On his overall performance, he commented on speedweek : " I really had a good feeling in Superpole. I felt that the rhythm was good. I had a good start, however, I made a bad decision in the first round. I tried on the outside, but some of my opponents clashed and I lost a few places ».
Michael Van der Mark: “ I stayed calm, just did my thing with the BMW and was surprised by the pace«
What followed was an exhilarating comeback: “ I stayed calm and immediately got into a good rhythm. I just continued my race, tried to protect the tires and progressed step by step ", said the pilot BMW.
« At the end, I saw that the guys in front of me were getting into more and more trouble. I just did my thing and was surprised by the pace. I had some great duels and some great overtaking maneuvers ". He finishes : " finishing sixth is fantastic. If you look at the race and the pace, my last lap was also my fastest: I really enjoyed riding my BMW M 1000 RR today ". Which, as we know, was not the case for its expressive neighbor…
WSBK Superbike Indonesia Race 1: classification
