Autosportfoto

Provisional second row for van der Mark at Assen

Michael van der Mark set the fifth fastest overall time in today's two practice sessions for the fourth round of the 2015 World Superbike championship at Assen in the Netherlands.

The 22-year-old Pata Honda rider fired his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP around the 4.542km Assen circuit in a time of 1m36.525s as British rider Chaz Davies secured provisional pole position.

Van der Mark's Pata Honda team-mate, Sylvain Guintoli, who was fifth fastest after the opening free practice session this morning, set the overall eighth fastest time today as he continues to seek the optimum setting for his CBR.

Tomorrow morning's third free practice session will combine with today's two to determine which riders go forward to the afternoon Superpole sessions to finalise grid positions for the two 21-lap races at Assen on Sunday.

Michael van der Mark - P5, 1m36.525s
I'm really, really happy with today, which was my first day at Assen on a superbike. I felt really good from the first laps this morning and the CBR was working very well. I am happy with P5 at the end because we have a lot of things still to improve, particularly stability on the exit of corners. In the last session with the new tyre in the rear, the front was already on the limit so I couldn't really improve my lap time but, with lots to work on, I'm happy with that first day here on the Fireblade.

Sylvain Guintoli - P8, 1m36.950s
Today has been a lot better as an opening day for us and we found some interesting things which I'm hoping we can turn into a bit more pace tomorrow. We're still working to improve my general feeling on the bike because I don't yet feel like it's really mine. The lap-by-lap pace is actually quite good and we're closer to the front than we have been for the last two races. With no really hard braking here at Assen, the CBR is working quite well, particularly through the fast-flowing corners at the back of the circuit.

Pieter Breddels - technical co-ordinator
I think we can be quit happy to see both riders closer to the front from the start and closing the gap to our competitors. In the end Michael was fifth, having been in the top four for most of the day. We made some really good steps there and his fresh tyre went in quite a bit before the end. Also, his ideal time is around four tenths better than the 36.5 that he did so there's certainly room for improvement there. Sylvain got eighth and we managed to find something that gave him some more confidence; we have some more things to fix for tomorrow, mainly on the stability at the rear, but we'll work on that tonight. The lap times are quite close, particularly the group from fourth to tenth, and I think we've had a positive day with both riders.

Free Practice Results

1 Chaz Davies 1m35.748s GBR DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
2 Tom Sykes 1m36.068s GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
3 Jonathan Rea 1m36.190s GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
4 Leon Haslam 1m36.480s GBR APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team - Red Devils
5 Michael van der Mark 1m36.525s NED HONDA Pata Honda World Superbike Team
6 Jordi Torres 1m36.840s ESP APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team - Red Devils
7 Alex Lowes 1m36.918s GBR SUZUKI Voltcom Crescent Suzuki
8 Sylvain Guintoli 1m36.950s FRA HONDA Pata Honda World Superbike Team
9 Xavi Fores 1m36.964s ESP DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
10 Leon Camier 1m37.061s GBR MV MV Agusta Reparto Corse