Michael van der Mark “made the wrong decision” on route to French WorldSBK Race 1 win

Michael van der Mark’s first WorldSBK victory in almost three years came in dramatic circumstances, after several riders crashed out in Magny-Cours.

Ultimately, it was a crash for Alex Lowes that handed van der Mark a lead that he did not relinquish.

“It feels unreal,” van der Mark told WorldSBK.com. “It’s been a tough couple of years. I think this year’s been going better and better, and my goal was to be on the podium. To win here is fantastic.”

Van der Mark explained that he got his strategy in the race wrong, that he waited too long to pit after the rain started to fall after the first couple of laps.

“I made the wrong decision,” he said. “We agreed with the team that as soon as it started raining, I’d come into pit.

“I was behind Alex [Lowes], and if you see him going, you think you can do another one. I think I should’ve come in earlier.

“When it was raining and I was on slicks, it was very, very tricky.

“This is what was flag-to-flag racing is all about and, after that, I didn’t make a mistake. It was nice but a tough race.”

Van der Mark’s factory BMW teammate, Toprak Razgatlioglu, had won 13 races in a row before this weekend. The Turkish rider was ruled out of this weekend’s action after a crash on Friday afternoon, but the Dutchman’s victory means BMW is still unbeaten since the Superpole Race at Assen.

“Unfortunately, Toprak was not in the race, but this one is also for him,” van der Mark said in parc ferme. “I hope he will be back soon on the bike.”