The Honda WorldSBK Team has completed the fourth round of the 2016 FIM Superbike World Championship with another podium finish, this time courtesy of Michael van der Mark. The young Dutchman was third at the chequered flag at the end of an unpredictable 21-lap race two at the TT Circuit Assen. This is the fourth podium of the season for van der Mark, and the third out of four WorldSBK races he has contested so far in the Netherlands. After his joyful maiden World Superbike podium yesterday, Nicky Hayden finished the second Dutch encounter with a solid sixth.

The race was declared wet by the race organisers despite the absence of rain, with the two Honda riders opting for the use of full-wet Pirellis. After a great start, both van der Mark and Hayden were part of the leading group and exchanged positions several times, while moving up the order. As the race got near its halfway point and the track surface dried, riders started to make their way back to the pits in order to switch to slicks. Van der mark came in at the end of lap nine, while Hayden waited for three more laps.

After the whole field went through the pit-stop procedure, Michael found himself in third place, although eight seconds away from the leading duo of Rea and Sykes. With no chance to bridge the gap to the front, the 23-year-old from Rotterdam decided to consolidate his position and ride his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP home in third. Nicky resumed his chase from ninth place and, thanks to a good pace in the dry, he was able to make up efseveral places before the chequered flag.

With four rounds of fourteen completed, Michael van der Mark and Nicky Hayden currently sit fourth and fifth in the Championship standings. The next round of the 2016 FIM Superbike World Championship will take place at Imola in two weeks.

Michael van der Mark 60 - 3rd

This third place feels like a win for me, especially after yesterday’s result. The support from the crowd was really amazing; I’m quite sure there were a lot more people here today compared to the past two years. As soon as we started the warm up lap, I realised that, at some point, we would have to change tyres. We were ready for the pit-stop, as we are one of the few teams who always practice it at the end of every session. When Jonathan came past me I couldn’t stay with him, but I wanted to wait one more lap before going into the pits. I came in the following lap and it proved to be a good choice. I rode the rest of the race basically on my own, as the guys at the front were just too far ahead. I want to thank the team for the amazing job they have done, my sponsors and all my fans.

Nicky Hayden 69 - 6th

I can’t say I’m happy with sixth as I felt I could have finished in a much higher position. I got another great start, I went from tenth to fourth just on the first lap and everything felt right. This was the first race for me in the wet in Superbike and with these tyres, so that put a smile on my face. Then, when the sun came out, the track started to dry really quickly. I was feeling really good and I guess that made me stay out on track for a bit too long before I pitted. Even when I got back on track I could not get up to speed immediately, as for the first time I was riding a bike with a wet setup on slick tyres. At some stage I found my rhythm and went past Lowes, but then the gap to Davies was simply too big. Again, it has been a new experience for me and now I’m looking forward to Imola.

Pieter Breddels - Technical Manager

Both Michael and Nicky had a great start to the race and showed fine speed in the wet, which was really good for us. With the tyre changes, they went different ways and Michael’s choice turned out to be the right one. Despite the difference in terms of results, both riders were also able to lap consistently fast in the dry and that shows that the package we have is competitive in every condition. Overall, we’re happy with the results and most of all for the fact that we were able to place both riders on the podium this weekend. Hopefully we can take the positives into the next race.