Dominating the front row in race two at the Pirelli Aragon Round, the Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team had a mixed Sunday at MotorLand Aragon as they came away with a top five and top 13 finish.

Michael van der Mark continued to have a strong weekend in Spain as he secured two top five finishes as he continues to make steps to understand the YZF-R1 machine. Starting from the front row, the Dutchman was able to lead the way in the opening laps of race two but was unable to stick with the fight. Despite this, van der Mark is happy with the step forward they have made as he looks ahead to his home Round in the Netherlands.

"I'm really happy” beams van der Mark. “We had a good start in second behind Alex, but I was a little bit slower than the guys in front of me even though I could hold on to them so I was happy with that. For sure we've made another step forward; that is really good. In the end I struggled with the front tyre, we were on the softer front option and I think today with the wind it made it worse. I'm happy finishing fifth, and it was good to fight in the front group. I want to thank the team for all their hard work. Everybody is working really very hard and we can see the potential is developing well. We are making progress and I'm happy."

British team-mate Alex Lowes had a more disappointing day on Sunday, as he crossed the line in 13^th position despite starting from pole position in race two. Taking the lead early on in the 18 lap race, Lowes then encountered issues with his gearing which hindered him for the remainder of the race.

Running off track meant Lowes was unable to be back up and in the fight for the podium, as he continued to work his way through the field.

Lowes explained: "I'm annoyed but it's my first small mistake in a race this year. It wasn't all my fault, I haven't been 100% happy with the shifting on the bike and just at that point I didn't get the shift quite right and missed the gear. I ran off and that was it, 20 seconds gone right there to get back in to the race. The team have done a fantastic job, my bike was great and I would have liked to be on the podium so overall I've got to be happy with the potential.”

Despite this, he can take some positives from the race with regards to his pace and potential with the machine. When I got back on track my pace was similar to Marco Melandri's but I was a long way behind. I'm upset that we had an opportunity to fight for the podium and we didn't take it. I feel good and I really feel we have made a good step forward on the bike. I need to improve in the first few laps but my race pace the second half of the race is good and I fully believe I could have been battling with the guys for the podium today. That's my goal for Assen, keep consistent, keep working hard and keep having fun."

The British-based team are out on track on the Monday following the round at MotorLand Aragon for the official test, before the fourth round of the season at TT Assen.