Nicky Hayden claimed his maiden WorldSBK podium finish today at the TT Circuit Assen. The 34-year-old American was third at the chequered flag at the end of an enthralling, 21-lap opening race one in the Netherlands. It was a bittersweet encounter for the Honda WorldSBK Team, though, as Michael van der Mark crashed out of second position into turn three on the penultimate lap, after an incredible on-track performance for the local rider.

Hayden got a perfect launch from tenth place on the grid and was sixth in the early stages of the race, before running comfortably in the tightly packed top four. On the penultimate lap, he moved up to third after van der Mark’s tumble and, after a moment at turn five, he decided to back off from chasing the leading duo and settled for third, which resulted in his first podium finish since the Jerez MotoGP race of 2011.

Despite a disappointing end to the race, Michael van der Mark once again showed all his talent on board the Honda WorldSBK Team’s CBR1000RR Fireblade SP as the 23-year-old battled hard with the leaders and even got his turn at the front, sending the home crowd into raptures. He was riding in second place on lap 20 of 21, when he lost the front. When he made his way back to the pit-box, a standing ovation was in store for him from his proud fans.

Race two of the Dutch round will take place tomorrow from 1pm local time (GMT +2).

Nicky Hayden 69 - 3rd

The start of the race was really intense, because we had such little dry track-time – basically two laps on race tyres in Superpole 2 – and so we didn’t know what to expect. I got a great start and was able to stay with the leading group of riders, although they were quite fast and every time I tried to relax, I could see a little gap opening in front of me. Towards the end, I started to feel more comfortable with the bike and conditions, so I thought I could find something extra in the final two laps. Just after Michael’s crash I had a moment at turn five, so I thought it was better to ride home in third. It’s my maiden WorldSBK podium and the first one in a long time, so I want to thank the team for the great work. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and hopefully we can put up a better fight.

Michael van der Mark 60 - DNF

In Superpole it was all a bit of a gamble, really, but I felt fine on the bike even though the wind was really strong and made our job a bit more difficult. The laps I did with the race tyres were OK and with the qualifying rubber I made a mistake and lost a bit of time, but fifth was still a decent result. My race start was not the best and I stayed calm in the first couple of laps, then I built up some good speed and had a nice battle at the front with Chaz Davies and especially with Jonathan Rea. I felt I was much quicker in some areas but I was also losing a bit of ground at the exit of turn 5. I knew I had the pace to at least be on the podium but I wanted to win, so I was planning to attack at some point in the last two laps. Unfortunately I lost the front at turn 3 and that was a real shame, because the podium was there. We know what to change for tomorrow and hopefully we can make up what we lost today.

Pieter Breddels - Technical Manager

We entered the race with a lot of unknowns, as we barely had any dry time to find a base setup ahead of the race. We knew Michael was going to be competitive because even last year he could battle at the front, while with Nicky we had to wait and see. Both did a brilliant job to get away with the leading group in the early stages. Nicky rode a great race and we are delighted that he was able to get his first WorldSBK podium. This is a great boost in confidence for him and I’m sure he will try to go for it again tomorrow. Michael’s race was incredible and I’m sure very spectacular to watch from the grandstands but unfortunately it translated into a DNF. He wanted the win and went for it but it just wasn’t his day. We have some areas where we need some more work and if we manage to find some extra acceleration out of the slow corners, I think we’ll be in a position for a great result in race two.