The Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team enjoyed a productive Monday in Portimao at the official one-day test following on from round ten of the 2017 FIM World Superbike Championship. Fresh from his maiden Yamaha podium in Race 2 on Sunday, Michael van der Mark was the busiest rider on track, completing 83 laps and setting the sixth fastest time. His teammate Alex Lowes also managed to get some essential work done despite having to ride through the pain barrier after his highside during Race 2, putting in 46 laps to finish the test in seventh.
The Pata Yamaha team took part in a full day’s testing in Portimao, where it remained dry and sunny until the last hour when a few drops of rain appeared. Van der Mark was keen to continue the progress that saw him cross the line in second in Race 2 on Sunday to record his first Yamaha Podium. The 24-year-old Dutch rider did not have many 2018 development parts to test, but instead focused on improving his feeling with the Yamaha R1 and was happy with the work done. It didn’t take long for him to improve his best time from the weekend, and he continued to put in the effort even when drops of rain appeared around the undulating 4.593km track in the final hour. In the end, he put in 83 laps, more than any other rider on Monday, and set a best time of 1:43.330, which was good enough for sixth on the overall timesheets.
His teammate Lowes was still feeling rather battered and bruised after his highside on Sunday, which he miraculously walked away from without any serious injury. Showing just how tough he is, the 27-year-old British rider shrugged off the pain to get through his testing schedule, managing to complete 46 laps around the physically demanding Portimao circuit as he tried out a number of different setting configurations. Lowes also managed to improve on his best lap time from the weekend’s races, setting a 1:43.517 to finish in seventh, just 0.173s behind his teammate.
The Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team return to action at round eleven of the 2017 FIM Superbike World Championship at Magny-Cours on the 29th September-1st October.
Michael van der Mark
Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team – 83 laps – 1:43.330
“Today we tried many things on the bike and I was quite fast from the start. I was faster than yesterday which is always good, we tried lots of different settings on the R1 and I did a lot of laps. I felt really happy on the bike! We also had some tyres to test for Pirelli, which had some positives and some negatives, but anyway, I am quite happy with the test today and I really look forward to Magny-Cours!”
Alex Lowes
Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team – 46 laps – 1:43.517
“It was a good test! Obviously, it was quite a difficult weekend for me but we managed to get quite a few laps in today. We tried a couple of things, although clearly, I couldn’t do too much as I was a bit stiff from yesterday. I am looking forward to Magny-Cours now, where hopefully we can have a better weekend.”
Paul Denning
Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team Principal
“It has been a good day for the Pata Yamaha team here at the official Dorna test in Portimao. We haven’t had a lot to try in terms of 2018 development parts or new components, so today has been more about trying to find more confidence for the riders by trying different setting directions that we haven’t had time to test over a race weekend. It has been positive, especially on Michael’s side, as he found a different chassis balance that helped him and his consistency in lap times has been very, very good. For Alex, it was incredible that he was even able to go out on the bike at all considering the physical condition he is in and he did a great job. We got through a lot of good work and we leave here happy and in a positive frame of mind for Magny-Cours.”
