Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team riders Alex Lowes and Michael van der Mark arrive in Assen this week ready and fully motivated to tackle the famous ‘Cathedral of Speed’ on their 2017 World Superbike spec YZF-R1 machines. Round four of the FIM World Superbike Championship will take place this weekend, the 29th and 30th April. Both Lowes and van der Mark will be keeping their fingers crossed for better weather than last year, that saw everything from hail, rain and sunshine over the two days of Superbike racing.

British rider Lowes arrives in Assen sitting in fifth in the championship standings after three rounds, looking to close the 16 point gap to Marco Melandri in fourth. The Official Yamaha rider is no stranger to Assen, having scored his first ever WorldSBK podium there in 2014. Lowes was able to show a consistent front running pace at the last round in Aragon, feeding team confidence heading in to the Dutch weekend.

Van der Mark returns to Assen this week to tackle his home round for the first time as an official Yamaha WorldSBK rider. The young Dutchman arrives in front of his home crowd in confident mood having booked steady and consistent progress on the YZF-R1 since joining the team at the beginning of the year. Two fifth place finishes in Aragon three weeks ago combined with strong local support and unrivalled track knowledge at Assen all add to van der Mark’s potential this weekend.

The Assen TT Circuit is located to the north east of The Netherlands - approximately 170kms from Amsterdam - and remains a firm favourite amongst the WorldSBK Championship's riders and fans alike. Its high-octane nature mixes 17 corners with mid-length straights providing breath-taking racing around its clockwise layout, with the final chicane the scene of many memorable last-lap battles. The Dutch round's main event will take place at 13:00 local time on both Saturday and Sunday as Lowes and van der Mark take to the track for the two 21-lap races.


Alex Lowes 

“After a solid start to the season and then three weeks off I am really motivated heading into Assen. The next couple of months the races come quite fast and I am excited about the potential of the Pata Yamaha. Assen is a track I have always really enjoyed; I got my first WSBK podium there in 2014. I really enjoy sector three it's flowing and this part in particular suits my style. I first raced Assen in 2012 with the BSB series, the fans have always been fantastic so now with a Dutch team mate I think it's going to be a great one for the team. Michael will have a lot of pressure and he has already come out saying he can challenge for the win, so I'm going to creep under the radar! I cannot wait!”

Michael van der Mark 

“I’m really looking forward to my home race. It's always something special to ride in front of your home crowd. After the Aragon weekend with good results and a really good test I’m going to Assen with lots of confidence. The YZF-R1 starts to feel like really my own bike and together with the Assen circuit it should be a good combination. Hopefully we can get our best results of the season and really enjoy my home race!”