Van der Mark left with a broken foot following a crash-strewn afternoon

Michael van der Mark was left with a broken foot following a crash-strewn afternoon. The 20-year-old Dutchman sustained four broken bones in his left foot and was forced to miss the final re-start.

Michael van der Mark - DNS

It was a lot of chaos with all the red flags and, on the third start, I think everybody was in a bit of a panic and some guy made a stupid move and Lorenzo got hit as a result. I was thinking I was going to be lucky to avoid it but the crash put mud and grass on the track. When I entered the corner, I lost the rear and highsided. When I landed I thought my foot was painful but was able to bring the bike back. I knew the foot was not right so I went to the Clinic and they made an X-ray. I have four broken bones but they say it will be ready for Donington. I wanted to ride but they said it was not possible and that’s just a shame for the team because we worked so hard all weekend. In the first two starts I was in quite a good position but I hope in Donington we can get a better result. The red flags were all good decisions and these things happen but it seemed like today they didn’t want a Supersport race!

Pieter Breddels – technical co-ordinator

It was a very hectic afternoon with three red flags. On the third occasion, some rider hit Lorenzo and he fell. Because of that, more riders crashed including Michael, who broke some bones in his foot and could not take part in the restart. The race finally took part after the second Superbike race, but this gave us time to build a complete new bike for Lorenzo. He was actually the fastest guy on the track, got the fastest lap and could have won it. But he finished third and we are really happy to end the weekend with a podium finish after some bad luck in Superbikes and with Michael getting hurt. We are third and fifth in the championship and it’s still early days, so not so bad.

2013 World Supersport championship, round four

Autodromo Nationale di Monza, Italy – 5.777km, 10 laps

Race results:

1 Sam Lowes (GBR) Yamaha

2 Florian Marino (FRA) Kawasaki

3 Lorenzo Zanetti (ITA) Pata Honda

4 Roberto Russo (ITA) Kawasaki

5 Kevin Coghlan (GBR) Kawasaki

6 Sheridan Morais (RSA) Honda

Championship points after four of 14 rounds:

1 Lowes 70, 2 Foret 54, 3 Michael van der Mark (NED) Pata Honda 49, 4 Sofuoglu 45, 5 Zanetti 40, 6 Scassa 34.

Next round: Donington Park, UK – 24-26 May

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