Van der Mark maintains Supersport momentum
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01/01/1970
Michael van der Mark finished in sixth place in Sunday's World Supersport race at Magny-Cours in France. It was the penultimate race of the season in which Sam Lowes confirmed his 2013 series victory by finishing in second place behind Kenan Sofuoglu.
Starting from eighth place on the grid for the 23-lap race around the 4.411km Magny-Cours circuit, van der Mark got a good start. However, his rear grip levels dropped in the second half of the race and the 20-year-old from the Netherlands was forced to concede position.
Michael van der Mark – sixth
The start was not too bad and I was able to pass some people. The front three had good pace but I couldn’t pass Tamburini early in the race. When I passed him, I got into a good rhythm but the tyre started to drop and I got slower. I couldn’t match my normal lap times but when two guys passed me I could follow them. Then I got some pace back, but I’m a little bit disappointed. With some more grip I could for sure have been closer to the front.
Pieter Breddels – technical co-ordinator
Because of all the rain during the practice and qualifying we were a little unsure about tyre choice. In the race, the grip levels dropped quite a bit and both riders struggled with that and couldn’t do any more.
