The third and last World Superbike Free Practice session on Friday saw Michael van der Mark taking the lead in the final stages. The Dutch rider impressed his fans with a wonderful lap in 1’35.156 on home soil and he aims for something similar for Saturday 21st, when Superpole and Race 1 will take place at Assen.
Michael van der Mark topped Friday standings followed by Ducati’s Marco Melandri and Michael Ruben Rinaldi. The reigning European Superstock 1000 Champion surprised everyone in FP3, when he took the lead halfway the session and remained first for several minutes, before van der Mark’s final assault.
After leading the way in both FP1 and FP2, Jonathan Rea finished the day in 4th place after focusing more on his race pace rather than trying a time attack. The reigning Champion is followed in the classification by Alex Lowes, Tom Sykes, Xavi Forés, Chaz Davies, Lorenzo Savadori and Jordi Torres. The Spanish MV Agusta rider is the last rider admitted straight to tomorrow’s Superpole 2, after being just 29 milliseconds faster than BMW’s Loris Baz.
Photo Credit: Yamaha Racing