Imola’s Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari is set to host round five of the 2016 FIM Superbike World Championship, with Honda WorldSBK Team’s Michael van der Mark and Nicky Hayden ready for action around the 4.936km iconic Italian venue after a pair of top 3 finishes at Assen.

In front of his home crowd at Assen, van der Mark put up a spectacular show of riding skills and determination in Race 1, which unfortunately ended with a crash on the penultimate lap while challenging for the lead. Race 2 saw the young Dutchman riding solidly in third for what turned out to be his fourth podium finish of the season in just four rounds.

Van der Mark has mixed memories of Imola: after a dominant win in 2014 on his way to the World Supersport title, last year ‘Magic Mike’ was unable to shine in front of the Italian crowd. Now with a full-year’s worth of experience in the series and a perfect synergy with his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP machine, van der Mark is confident of good results in Italy.

Nicky Hayden will ride for the first time at Imola on Friday morning, meaning that the experienced American from Owensboro, Kentucky, has several challenges to face at the same time on day one: learning the track while working with the team to find a good setup for the bike and being quick enough to qualify for Superpole 2. Last time out at Assen, Hayden claimed his first podium finish in Race 1 and was able to show great speed in wet conditions in the second race.

“I’m really looking forward to Imola, a track that I really enjoy riding,” said van der Mark. “With the big improvements made to the Fireblade over the winter and in the first four rounds, I’m pretty sure we will be much more competitive than last year. Given the many podiums we have collected so far, my goal for the Italian round is to be at least in the top 5. The team and I have some ideas to improve the bike setup and we will try some new things, which we didn’t have time to evaluate in Assen. I cannot wait to get back on track!”

“Racing in Italy is something I have always enjoyed in the past and I don’t think in Superbike it will be any different,” added teammate Nicky Hayden. “For what I’ve seen on videos, the track looks epic but I will need to work hard with the team from Thursday, having a look at the data and understanding the gearing and the layout. It looks a very technical track with a lot of elevation changes and I know from experience that if you notice them on TV it means that when you see them live they are twice as steep and on a bike even more! It’s a track with a lot of history and I grew up watching my heroes racing there, so I’m looking forward to getting started.”

Both riders will be back on track on Friday 29^th April for the first practice sessions of the Motul Italian Round, as entrants to Tissot-Superpole 2 qualifying are decided at the legendary track.