WorldSBK’s only Dutch rider Michael van der Mark says he “really hopes to get on the podium” during the World Superbike round this weekend, which hasn’t won the podium at home at BMW.
Van der Mark’s final podium at Assen returned in 2019, when he finished second in Race 2. In Yamaha, third in Race 1, the current BMW rider has a strong historic shape on the circuit that won its first world superbike podium in 2015.
“It’s always nice to have your house go back and forth. I love being here in Assen,” Van der Mark said ahead of the Dutch round.
“It’s a track I really enjoy riding with. (So I’m really looking forward to seeing how things went in the final round, especially at Portimao. I think we’re very strong.”
He added: “I really want to be on the podium here. As I saw before, this field is very competitive and we need to work on the details. We’re very strong and my dream is to be on the podium.”
Looking back at Portimao, who was able to finish in the top six in both long races, Van der Mark emphasized the importance of pre-event testing at a Portugal venue two weeks before the race.
“The best thing for us was taking a good test at Portimao,” he said.
“There were a lot of ideas after Australia and we had to find something.
“At Portimao, we had a package ready, but there were things that felt comfortable. It’s not the best yet, but at least there are some that can match very well.”