During the Tissot Superpole session, Van der Mark was fastest of all riders in the first sector of the tricky Spanish circuit and on course to set an impressive overall qualifying time, when unfortunately, the Dutchman was held up by another rider on the 5.077 km lap. He managed to make a second lap on the Pirelli qualifying tyre but was unable to improve on his start position of 12th for the race.
With work to do to make up places, the 27-year-old kept his cool to finish fourth in his 150th WorldSBK race with a mature ride using the softer “X” tyre, normally selected for the 10-lap sprint race, to find more grip.
Razgatlıoğlu made a lightning start from a much-improved seventh on the grid and was able to cut through the field to fourth position in the first corner. This enabled him to go with the front runners in the early stages of the race, however he began to lose time as grip levels dropped and eventually finished just behind team-mate Van der Mark in fifth position.
Tomorrow morning the two Pata Yamaha riders look to come out swinging in the Tissot Superpole Race at 11:00 local time (GMT+2), as they fight to improve their grid position for Race 2 at 14:00.
For full Tissot Superpole results, click here.
For full Race 1 results, click here.