Van der Mark gets second MotoGP chance at Valencia
Michael van der Mark will reprise his role as Jonas Folger’s replacement at Tech 3 Yamaha for next weekend’s MotoGP season finale at Valencia.
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
World Superbike regular van der Mark was handed the chance to make his premier class debut in the most recent race at Sepang, with Folger forced to miss the race due to illness.
The Dutchman qualified 22nd and last after a crash, but recovered to 16th in a wet race, narrowly missing out on scoring a point on his debut.
It had been expected that Folger would not be able to contest the Valencia finale, and van der Mark’s solid performance in Malaysia has led to a second opportunity to race for Tech 3.
In an official World Superbike video published on Dutch website racesport.nl, van der Mark said: “It’s great to race MotoGP in Valencia next weekend.
“It’s a shame that Jonas still is ill, but I’m very honoured that Herve [Poncharal, Tech 3 boss] asked me again to replace him and apparently, I impressed enough in Sepang.
“I’m very looking forward to the Valencia weekend. Now at least I know the bike a bit and for me the most important thing is that we’ll have normal weather conditions in Valencia, so that I can improve myself in every session.
“I just hope that I can achieve a good result and that the team will be pleased again.”
Van der Mark concluded his World Superbike campaign this weekend in Qatar, finishing fourth in Saturday’s second race and ending up sixth in the standings.
The 25-year-old has expressed interest in becoming a regular test rider for Yamaha, although he is committed to continuing in WSBK with the Japanese manufacturer in 2018.
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