Van der Mark impresses in Portugal

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Van der Mark impresses in Portugal

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Van der Mark impresses in #Portugal


Michael van der Mark finished fourth in today’s sixth round World Supersport championship race at the 4.592km Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal, getting his season back on track following two difficult races.



Starting from sixth place on the grid, the 20-year-old Dutch World Supersport rookie consolidated his starting position in the early laps but, with consistent lap times, he began to reduce the gap to the eventual winner, Sam Lowes and rivals Fabien Foret and Kenan Sofuoglu.



Just four weeks after breaking his foot at Monza in Italy, van der Mark caught the leading trio in the closing stages of the 20-lap race, at one point holding second place, before eventually having to settle for fourth, just half a second off the podium.



His Pata Honda team-mate, Lorenzo Zanetti, started from 24th place on the grid following a big crash during qualifying yesterday afternoon. The 26-year-old Italian battled hard, taking ten places to finish in 14th position, but left Portugal frustrated that he could not maintain the form showed in the previous two races.



Michael van der Mark – 4th



I think we have to be really happy with this result today. The start wasn’t that great and I lost a few places early on. I finally passed some guys and managed to settle into a really consistent pace. I couldn’t go any faster so just tried to do the same lap times all through the race. I could see the group in front and I knew that at some point they would start to fight for first position. I was hoping that, when that started, they would lose some time and they did. I kept doing the same lap times and made it up to the group. I passed them a few times but one time I went a little bit wide and Kenan [Sofuoglu] missed a gear and the others passed me again. I kept pushing but in the last lap I lost the front a bit, but after two disappointments at Monza and Donington, we are really happy with this weekend.



Lorenzo Zanetti – 14th



It was not a good weekend for me. I didn’t have a good feeling all the weekend and then the big crash in qualifying meant that I had to start from a long way back on the grid. I passed a few people but I couldn’t make the gap to the next group and could not really find a rhythm. I am disappointed with the result, of course, but Imola is one of my favourite circuits so I look forward to starting again there.



Pieter Breddels – technical co-ordinator



Lorenzo has had quite a difficult weekend. In the race he went from 24th to 14th, which was good, but he still didn’t have the pace to go with the front runners. For him it’s a weekend to forget, but I’m sure he will be back on form in Imola. Michael had a really good race with a very steady, consistent pace. Eventually he caught the front runners and he was even second at one time. He had a good battle and finished fourth but, coming from that far behind and closing that gap to the front, it feels like a podium. He did a really good job, which shows once again the potential that he has, so congratulations to him and his crew.



2013 World Supersport championship, round six

Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, Portugal – 4.592km, 20 laps

Race result:

1 Sam Lowes (GBR) Yamaha

2 Fabien Foret (FRA) Kawasaki

3 Kenan Sofuoglu (TUR) Kawasaki

4 Michael van der Mark (NED) Pata Honda

5 Sheridan Morais (RSA) Honda

6 Jack Kennedy (IRL) Honda

14 Lorenzo Zanetti (ITA) Pata Honda

Championship points after six of 14 rounds:

1 Lowes 120, 2 Sofuoglu 81, 3 Foret 81, 4 van der Mark 61, 5 Zanetti 55, 6 Luca Scassa (ITA) Kawasaki 53.

Next round: Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy – 28-30 June
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