“Magic Michael” bounced back in style at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli on Saturday in Race 1, as the Honda rider took his Fireblade to another podium finish, behind only the KRT duo of Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes. After missing the podium since having been a rostrum regular nearer the start of the season, the finish was a good haul of points for the Dutchman, who temporarily moved back up into the top 4 in the Championship.

“It was good to be back on the podium,” said van der Mark. “We had so many difficult weekends and to be honest I didn’t really expect it – I was quite lucky but at the end I had good pace yesterday and the only one who was fast at the end was Davies. Really happy to be back on the podium, it’s not only what I needed but also what the team needed because we were quite lost in the last couple of Rounds.”

The number 60 side of the Honda garage has struggled with refining some points in the setup of their Fireblade recently, but a test day early in June was fruitful, before the podium finish proved a good reward for their hard work. Race 2 was more unlucky for the Dutchman in Misano however, as van der Mark found himself unable to avoid Chaz Davies following a lowside for the Welshman just ahead of van der Mark on track. The Honda rider remounted outside the points, and fought back through the field in an impressive return to the top ten.

“We both qualified quite far down,” said van der Mark of the incident. “When Chaz passed me I saw he was very fast and I thought I would try to follow him and get up to the front, then he lost it and I had nowhere to go. It was quite a shame because the Race is so long, and he could have calmed down a bit, but that’s racing. I was happy to be able to pick up the bike because I knew points would be possible and every point can be really important at the end of the year.”

After having taken P4 back in the title standings on Saturday, the Dutch rider then found himself overtaken by Davide Giugliano in the title fight after Race 2 following the altercation with second Ducati rider Davies, but the 2014 World Supersport Champion is ready to carry on working away at the setup to put himself back center stage, beginning on Monday 20^th June as WorldSBK remains at Misano World Circuit for a test day.

“We have a lot of things to try,” added van der Mark about the test. “Different setups that we don’t want to try on Friday because they are big changes and the practices are so short. We have a lot of ideas we want to try in the setup and electronics so the testing hours will go fast.”

The test will take place from 9:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 18:00 local time (GMT +2), as the paddock prepares for Round 9 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, and the rest of the 2016 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season.