Van Der Mark: Lost the front going into turn eight, bit s*** to be honest

Michael Van Der Mark got life as a BMW rider off to a difficult start as he missed most of WorldSBK FP2 at Aragon due to a front end crash at turn eight.

Robert Jones

21 May 2021

Michael van der Mark, Aragon WorldSBK 2021
© Gold and Goose

Day-one of the new World Superbike season was a tricky one for BMW and Michael Van Der Mark in particular.

The Dutch rider had a relatively decent FP1 at MotorLand Aragon as he finished ninth fastest, but an early spill at the off-camber turn eight saw him miss over 35 minutes of valuable track action in FP2, as his M 1000 RR bike landed on top of the air fence.

"The crash itself wasn’t that big, it’s just the bike ended up on top of the air fence. Temperatures went up and of course the bike’s moving around a bit more, but I don’t know exactly what happened," said Van Der Mark.

"I lost the front going into Turn 8, which is a bit s*** to be honest. We needed this track time and planned to do long runs.

"Anyway, unfortunately for the boys, a lot of work to do. Tomorrow we have to improve the bike a bit better because, to be honest, this morning I felt good.

"I think my first timed lap wasn’t that bad for the conditions and the tyres I was on. Just a shame and I’m so sorry for the guys but tomorrow we have to try again."

Van Der Mark and team-mate Tom Sykes both looked comfortable during the cooler conditions of FP1, but the afternoon’s hotter temperatures - an issue for BMW in 2020, still seems to be holding back their potential.

Van Der Mark ultimately finished 17th while former team-mate on the Pata Yamaha Toprak Razgatlioglu was quickest overall.