Van Der Mark: “I want to stay with BMW to start winning with this project”

The Dutch rider, like every other BMW rider, is currently on a contract that ends after the 2023 WorldSBK campaign, however, the five-time Superbike race winner wants to remain with BMW. 

This weekend’s home round for Van Der Mark is only the third round of the season, and while BMW made improvements as 2022 developed, they once again started the current season way behind its competitors.

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In fact, BMW have looked like the fifth best manufacturer in most of the races so far, which is why winning in the dry or without bizarre circumstances taking place seems to be a long way away at present.

But Van Der Mark, who has taken the German manufacturer’s only win since returning as a full factory outfit in 2019, is keen to lead BMW to glory. 

"I’m really happy to be back racing again, especially at Assen," said Van Der Mark. "I’m always looking forward to being here. Unfortunately, it’s only once a year but it’s nice to be back here at Assen! 

"It was nice to ride again at the test after Indonesia. We had a lot of things to test and, for us, it was to see what direction we have to go for the future. Nothing really decided about what to use here but we had some swingarms. It was all to confirm the direction for the future. 

"I want to stay with BMW for sure. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the results yet like we wanted for different reasons. 

"One reason was my injury which cost us a whole year. I want to improve this project, to start winning with this project, hopefully we can stay together."

Van Der Mark’s best result of the season so far is a sixth place finish in Race 1 at Mandalika, which is best of the four BMW riders.