Baz “right behind Van Der Mark, it was a big one!”

Van Der Mark suffered a massive highside coming out of the final chicane in Race 2 of the Dutch WorldSBK round in Assen, which caused an immediate left leg break. 

Baz, who also went on to crash out just a few laps later, was back in action after returning from his own leg break in Mandalika at the beginning of March. 

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What was a heroic performance from Baz who was still struggling to walk throughout the weekend, was put to one side by the Frenchman when speaking after Race 2, as he instead sent his best wishes to Van Der Mark. 

“I’m ok, but my first thought was for Michael (van der Mark), because I was right behind him when he crashed, and it was really a big one,” said Baz. “I know what he has been through and it’s really tough seeing him in this kind of situation again. I wish him a quick recovery and hope he can come back soon.” 

On the subject of his own race, Baz then went on to say: "I had a good start, and I was feeling better with the leg compared to yesterday. In the Superpole Race we had a technical issue, so I didn’t do a lap. 

"We had to change the engine between the Superpole and the main race and the new engine didn’t feel the same, so I lost some time during the first laps. Then Oettl overtook me, as he was a bit faster in the parts where I was struggling. 

"But I was catching him in some other fast places. Coming into that last fast left, it was three or four laps in a row that I gone wide there, and I was worried about crashing, so on that lap, I really rolled early to stay on the line and I crashed there. 

"For sure, I released the brake earlier, maybe I went too inside, it’s just strange. I feel sorry for the team because the bike is destroyed. I was feeling better, but when you don’t feel at 100% all weekend, you obviously force it a bit in some places because I couldn’t move. 

"I was trying to get some points; I was pretty fast considering the shape I’m in. It was a rough weekend, really hard, but we keep moving forward. 

"Scott (Redding) has shown that the bike has something more than we did this weekend. For sure, I will feel better in Barcelona. I hope I’ll be able to come back to my normal pace."

One BMW rider who did struggle throughout the weekend was Baz’ teammate Garrett Gerloff. The American was 12th in both feature races, while finishing 17th in the Superpole Race.

However, the former Yamaha rider felt as though his pace was better than the positions he finished in, and that starting down the order was the main issue.

Gerloff added: "I feel like we had some good pace, just starting from so far back after having such a tricky qualifying was making it difficult. It was my own fault really for being so far back and that’s the most frustrating thing. 

"Also, it was so close, as it was so tight between everybody. It would have been nice to start a few rows forward and I could have changed some things. In the Superpole Race I just didn’t have anything to make up any ground, with only eight laps it was super difficult. 

"In race two I had a good start, but in the first corner, I got bottlenecked and had to brake and check where the guys were around me. 

"I just had to fight to come back. It was a long day. I’m looking forward to the next round, I like Barcelona. I’ll go back there and try to have some good results."

Redding leads the way in mini WorldSBK resurgence for BMW

After two dreadful rounds for the German manufacturer in Phillip Island and Mandalika, Scott Redding was a constant presence inside the top ten for the first time this season.

Only Van Der Mark was the other BMW rider to secure a top ten which came in the Superpole Race, however, Redding was the only one to score points in all three races for BMW.

Speaking after Race 2, Redding said: "I was quite happy that I could be up in the race and even more as I was able to push the bike a little bit, which was nice. But still, we are struggling in some areas and it’s difficult because you cannot get much time back on the others. 

"But I feel like I was riding well. I enjoyed riding the bike this week which was nice for me, and I was fighting in positions where I felt we should be. 

"Yesterday I struggled with the front tyre and today I struggled with rear grip over the entire race. But it was a better weekend, we got some good information. And now we will see if we can bring something to further improve."