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Michael van der Mark plans Toprak Razgatlioglu assistance at Italian World Superbike | World Superbikes
Michael van der Mark secured his first WorldSBK race win in almost three years at the French Round two weeks ago. Now he is planning to use his speed to assist his absent, title contending teammate, Toprak Razgatlioglu.
Van der Mark’s Magny-Cours win may have come in the rain, but he also showed strong pace in the dry in France, topping FP2, for example.
“Magny-Cours was a nice weekend for me, finally being back on the podium and winning; it was fantastic,” van der Mark told WorldSBK.com ahead of the Italian Round.
“There were a lot of emotions because there was a mixed feeling in the team, with Toprak [Razgatlioglu] crashing and being unfit.”
Switching focus to this weekend’s Italian Round at Cremona, where Razgatlioglu is absent as he continues to recover from the injuries he sustained in France, van der Mark suggested he might be able to help his teammate’s title chances.
“I’m feeling good and very strong,” van der Mark said. “I think we’re able to fight for the podium again this weekend. We’ve seen in the last couple of rounds, I’m getting stronger and stronger. I’m fighting for the podium.
“We should be able to fight for the podium and if we can take some points off Toprak’s rivals, it’ll be a really good weekend.”
Razgatlioglu’s lead in the championship is 55 points over Nicolo Bulega, who won both Sunday races in France. With 62 points available this weekend, it is a mathematical possibility that Bulega could take the championship lead ahead of next weekend’s Aragon Round.
Reigning champion Alvaro Bautista is 122 points behind the Turkish rider ahead of this weekend’s race at Cremona.
