Aragon WorldSBK: Michael Van Der Mark in race against time to be fit

Van Der Mark, who suffered the accident a few weeks ago, missed last week’s crucial two-day test in Catalunya. 

With most of the grid in attendance it was an opportunity to see where each team stacked up relative to its competition, however, Van Der Mark, who is the second most experienced BMW rider behind Eugene Laverty, is yet to ride his M 1000 RR at any 2022 pre-season test. 

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Van Der Mark was instead replaced by Ukrainian rider Ilya Michalchik who competes for BMW in EWC (Endurance World Championship), which will once again be the case during the lone official WorldSBK pre-season test at Aragon on April 4-5. 

Although Michalchik did a solid job on his WorldSBK debut, the German manufacturer was way off the pace across both its teams, highlighting the need for Van Der Mark’s ability, but also valuable experience on the M 1000 RR.

A machine that’s set for its second competitive season of world championship racing, the M 1000 RR was expected to make considerable improvements compared to 2021, but at this early stage that doesn’t seem to be the case. 

Getting Van Der Mark back will go a long way in evaluating the bike’s true performance, something that may have to wait until after the opening round. 

Speaking about when he could be back, Van Der Mark is hopeful of making it in time for next weekend’s race, although the Dutchman says ‘we need to be more realistic’.

“The incident with my mountain bike has happened just over two weeks ago now and luckily, I had a surgery last week with which the recovery started,” added Van Der Mark. 

“That makes you a bit happier mentally although you know it’s a long way to go, but I am making good progress day by day. 

“My goal is to be back on the bike as soon as possible, but we have to be realistic. I know that for the Aragon test that Ilya will be on my bike but for the Aragón race, we will decide. 

“Of course, I want to ride my bike. I miss my bike; I miss working with the guys so I want race but we have to be sure that if I do that I will not be in trouble for the rest of the year. 

“So, Aragon is my goal but maybe the closer we get, we need to be more realistic. As a rider, you want to ride your bike. I try to improve every day so I look at the situation day by day and I think we will decide close to the first race.”

Are BMW suffering similar problems to that of Aprilia and KTM during their early years in MotoGP?

Until two seasons ago, Aprilia and KTM remained a considerable way off the likes of Honda, Yamaha, Ducati and Suzuki. 

And while the gap has now completely closed - any of the six current manufacturers in MotoGP can win on any given weekend - the development struggles it took to reach those heights didn’t go unnoticed. 

Starting from scratch, both Aprilia and KTM had to build prototype bikes from the ground up, therefore experience was also keeping them a step behind. 

Aprilia joined the premier class in 2015 but were unable to claim a podium until last season, while KTM joined MotoGP in 2017 and managed just one rostrum in its first three seasons, courtesy of Pol Espargaro at Valencia 2018. 

BMW introduced its M 1000 RR due to the previous S 1000 RR model failing to reach the required level, and while it was a machine that excited many, a lack of consistent pace has been very evident, that’s despite clinching a race win in Portimao. 

That victory came in wet conditions as Van Der Mark produced a brilliant performance, one that wasn’t necessarily showcasing the bike’s strengths, but rather his ability. 

It goes without saying that BMW has the rider line-up to win as all four of its riders have won in WorldSBK - the only manufacturer who can say that - but at the same time pre-season testing has suggested them to be last in terms of bike performance.