Van der Mark recovered from, by his own admission, a disappointing seventh in the 10-lap qualifying race to become one of the main protagonists in the second full-length race at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve.
The flying Dutchman made steady progress up the order, keeping a cool head until he caught Ducati’s Scott Redding in second. Van der Mark was able to capitalise on Redding’s mistake running wide at Turn 5 but was, unfortunately, unable to hold on to the runner-up position due to a small error later on lap 13. While he kept the pressure on right to the chequered flag, Van der Mark ultimately finished just 0.093s shy in third.
This morning, Pata Yamaha’s young rising star, Razgatlıoğlu, was the only rider who managed to get away with race-winner Jonathan Rea from the start of the Superpole Race. The leading pair immediately pulled a gap on the rest of the field and maintained their positions to the end, as Razgatlıoğlu took his sixth podium of the season.
In Race 2, the Turkish rider suffered a slow low side at the notoriously bumpy Turn 5, but was able to quickly remount and recover to eighth, banking crucial points for the championship in the process.
The Pata Yamaha team will now make their way to Motorland Aragón for a two-day test on 13-14 August prior to back-to-back race weekends at the Spanish circuit at the end of the month, scheduled as the fourth and fifth rounds of the 2020 FIM Superbike World Championship, where the goal is to once again challenge for the podium as well as make a step forward to fight for victory.
For the GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team, Federico Caricasulo recorded his best finish to date, climbing up to ninth from the fifth row of the grid in only his third WorldSBK weekend, having shown promise earlier with a 12th-place finish in the Superpole Race.
Teammate Garrett Gerloff continued to impress in his maiden WorldSBK season, finishing 10th in the sprint race, just 0.570 shy of the points-paying places. The American was chasing another top 10 result in the final race, but finished 11th after clashing with Xavi Fores.
Loris Baz rode a supreme Superpole Race, making another lightning getaway from sixth on the grid to take third as they filed through Turn 1. The Frenchman dealt with early pressure to claim his first podium for the Ten Kate Yamaha WorldSBK Supported Team, finishing third to ensure another double Yamaha podium in Portugal. In Race 2, he suffered a high-speed fall at Turn 15 and would not continue.
For full Superpole Race results, click here.
For full Race 2 results, click here.
