Just a little more patience, then the motorsport season will start at the TT Circuit of Assen. The Superbikes will kick off in two weeks. The Dutch trump in the world championship, Michael van der Mark, looks ahead. “We are going to score very well here.”
When the temperature rises and the sun shines more and more exuberantly, the tension on and around the TT Circuit increases. Once again this year, the Superbikes will open the motorsport season on the asphalt of Drenthe’s cathedral of speed. The street motorcycle world championship, which, unlike the MotoGP, is simply in the dealer’s showroom, is coming to the capital of Drenthe for the 31st time, to be precise on the weekend of April 21, 22 and 23.
Two fingers
At the TT Circuit, Michael van der Mark, the country’s permanent trump in the Superbike championship, looked ahead to the third round of the World Cup on Wednesday. The BMW driver did not have a great start to the season in Australia and Indonesia. Including Superpole, each weekend consists of three races. During the season opening at Phillip Island, the 30-year-old speed wonder from Bergschenhoek finished tenth once, twelfth once and dropped out once. At the Mandalika circuit, sixth, tenth and twelfth places followed and he broke two fingers on his left hand.
It is not the rankings that the driver, who is still known as the first Dutchman to finish on the WorldSBK podium and also the first Dutchman to win a Superbike race at the highest level, normally competes for. The big question for Van der Mark is therefore what should be done with him and his BMW if a podium place is to come into view again.
All metals removed
,,First of all I have to get fit again”, says Van der Mark, who has had many physical setbacks in recent years. He broke his leg last year. He suffered the consequences for a long time to come. “But in December I had all metals removed from my body. After that I had no more problems. So that was a very good choice. Before that I thought it was going pretty well, but when I left the hospital and everything was out, I really felt how it got in my way. Fortunately, that’s all behind me and I’m in top shape at the start.”
Then the material, because that is the other important component in motorsport. There was a lot of criticism of the BMW last year, with which Van der Mark then finished fifteenth in the World Cup. In particular, his teammate Scott Redding wiped the floor with the German machine. This season, both drivers again had a tough time during the first races.
Test in Barcelona
,,But we tested in Barcelona last week and that felt good”, says Van der Mark. “We tried a lot of new things. I can’t go into detail about that – you shouldn’t make the competition wiser than they are – but the bottom line is that we’ve focused on the corner exit. There we lacked too much drive, had too little grip and we fell a little short compared to the other teams. Fortunately, we are now coming to Assen. We always do well there.”
Van der Mark is confident that he can compete with the Bavarian two-wheeler. “The differences are very small. In Indonesia, for example, we were just close by. It also differs from track to track. Our bike may be a little more sensitive to conditions such as weather and track type. At BMW there is a very large group of people who work hard to get the most out of it. Of course it never goes fast enough for us, but I am confident that the results will come.”
Good weekend
Van der Mark hopes to start in two weeks on his home track. ,,But the TT Circuit is not only good for us”, the South Hollander issues a profit warning. ,,I don’t think there is a single driver who doesn’t like to come to Assen. Last year I had a good weekend in Drenthe. I am convinced that we will score very well here again.”