Michaelvan der Mark

Dutchman Michael van der Mark heads into 2025 on the back of a race-winning campaign and a sixth-place finish in the standings, his best since 2021. His wet-weather masterclass at Magny-Cours was a reminder of his ability and the #60 will be hoping a second consecutive injury-free season will lift him further up the standings and, potentially, help his ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team to a Teams’ Championship title.

BMW (2021-)

Van der Mark has been with German manufacturer BMW for four seasons so far but it’s not all been plain sailing for him. Bad injuries at various points throughout 2022 and 2023 left him on the sidelines, with his BMW highlight until 2024 undoubtedly a mixed-conditions win in the Tissot Superpole Race at Portimao in 2021. Podiums at Donington and Mandalika also came that year but it wouldn’t be until 2024 that he would stand on the rostrum again. His first was his Magny-Cours Race 1 victory on an emotional day for the #60, while his second was a third-place finish in Race 2 at Jerez – with van der Mark sharing the podium with ‘Abi’ Toprak Razgatlioglu.

Yamaha (2017-2020)

Van der Mark was part of Yamaha’s project for four seasons before moving to BMW, where he enjoyed a lot of success. He scored two podiums in his first season with the Japanese brand before adding 10 more, including two wins, in 2018 as he finished third in the World Championship standings – his best finish to date. Fourth and fifth followed in 2018 and 2019, both seasons he tasted victory in, before his move to BMW for the 2021 campaign.

Honda (2015-2016)

His WorldSBK debut came in 2015 with Honda and he was immediately on the podium, taking nine in his two seasons on the CBR1000RR-R machine. He finished seventh and fourth in the standings with Honda before his move to Yamaha, while his only WorldSBK pole position came in 2016 at Buriram.

STK600 and WorldSSP

Gouda-born van der Mark made a name for himself in both STK600 and WorldSSP before his World Superbike switch, winning the title in both Championships. He took the STK600 title in 2012, finishing on the podium nine times in ten races, before moving into WorldSSP for 2013. Immediately on the pace, he was fourth in his first season with Honda machinery before he claimed the Championship title in 2014 with 10 podiums, including six wins, in 11 races.