Michael van der Mark says he is ‘fully focused’ on this weekend’s Portugal World Superbike round despite increased attention following his MotoGP call-up with Yamaha.
The Dutch rider will make his MotoGP debut at next weekend’s Aragon Grand Prix as the replacement for the injured Valentino Rossi at the factory Yamaha team.
While thrilled at being afforded the opportunity to race in the premier class, van der Mark has put that to the back of his mind ahead of the 10th round of the 2017 WorldSBK season.
Having endured a difficult German round, in which he took a 15th and eleventh-place finish in both races, the Dutchman is confident of taking a step forward at Portimao after a good pre-season test there at the start of the year.
“After a difficult weekend at the Lausitzring, I am looking forward to Portimao a lot,” said van der Mark.
“We had a good test there during the winter, so I have experience of riding the circuit on the Yamaha R1 already and it is also one of my favourite tracks.
“It’s always a difficult track to set up the bike because it is such a unique circuit, and incorporates lots of different requirements over the laps, but that’s also why I like it so much.
“Obviously, I am excited about the opportunity Yamaha has given me in Aragon but I am fully focused now on me and my R1 performing well at Portimao – I’m looking forward to getting into the fight with the top guys this weekend.”
Team-mate Alex Lowes enjoyed a more fruitful time at the Lausitzring one month ago, the Briton taking a hard-fought sixth and fifth from both outings.
Continually making progress with the R1, Lowes is keen to carry that momentum forward into the remaining four rounds of the season.
“I am looking forward to Portimao because it’s a track that is really exciting and lots of fun to ride, it’s a real thrill to make a fast lap,” he said.
“I am fully focused on improving mine and the team’s results on the R1 before the end of the year, and I cannot wait to get back on track.”
