Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda) is the current leader of the Supersport World Championship with four wins and three second places under his belt and a significant 53 point lead heading into the last stretch of the season. After a disappointing DNF in the opening round at Phillip Island, the young Dutchman’s performance has been simply flawless.

“We were fast right from the start in Australia, but of course we had to wait and see if we were going to be quick everywhere else,” said van der Mark, who scored his maiden WSS on Round 3 at Assen. “Winning the first race is always difficult, but I knew I could do it and I knew how it feels. After the first win something changes inside of you but I am actually surprised of how our results have improved so much from last year, it has been better than in any of my dreams!

“Now I have a big lead in the standings and I’m enjoying the summer break,” he continued “but I don’t have to relax too much because I still need to win the title. Now I need to start focusing on the championship, even though I would like to win every race anyway. Of course I wouldn’t mind to have only three races instead of four, but I don’t think it’s a big deal.”

Rumors have linked the WSS star to few different rides for next year but van der Mark claims that there is only one goal in his mind now. One thing he is sure about, considering his recent second win at Suzuka 8 Hour, that he might be even faster on a bigger machine: “My riding style and my height surely suit better a 1000cc bike, but I admit that the one I rode at Suzuka was handling really well and that was a plus. There is nothing really sure at the moment about next year, all I want now is to fulfill my dream and become World Champion.”