Hayden and van der Mark Head for Misano
Honda WorldSBK Team back in Italy and ready for Round 8
After a one day test at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli earlier in the month, Nicky Hayden and Michael van der Mark have headed back to the 4km circuit on the Adriatic for Round 8 of the 2016 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship. Hayden knows the track well from the MotoGP calendar, and the WorldSBK rookie Race winner will be looking to use all his experience to push back to the front of the grid.
Van der Mark comes from a double top ten finish in 2015 in his rookie year, and a P2 in 2014 in WorldSSP after a battle with eventual winner Jules Cluzel. The Dutchman is hopeful for the upcoming Round at the Italian track after a successful test day that saw the 2014 WorldSSP Champion get back the good feeling on his Honda that took him to a run of podium finishes earlier in the season.
“I´m looking forward to it,” said Hayden. “I spent the last weekend watching my brother racing – and winning – in Alabama for MotoAmerica. Being a spectator is nice but surely makes you want to get back in the saddle as soon as possible! Misano is in a great area, in a part of Italy where I base myself a lot in the summer, so I have a lot of friends there. The track has never been too kind to me and never been one where I have been able to make my own luck. The second part of the track with the fast right corners is where you really make the lap-time, although the first tight-and-slow section is where we need to improve the most. Hopefully we can start on the right foot and put up a good fight.”
“After the test in Misano I found a good feeling with my Fireblade again,” added van der Mark. “We definitely needed that test and I want to thank the team and Honda for setting it up. It’s time for us to put a good weekend together and get back where we belong, as we have been missing the podium for a few rounds now. It’s the second half of the season now so every race is crucial for the final classification and we cannot afford ourselves just OK results anymore. I’m really looking forward to the weekend now and hopefully we’ll be able to get what we’re here for.”
The Honda duo will be out on track at Misano once again on Friday 17th June as practice sessions decide entry to Tissot-Superpole 2 the following day, before the lights go out for the Races at 13:00 (GMT +2) on Saturday and Sunday.
