Michael van der Mark was locked in a battle for the lead until losing the front of his Honda Fireblade and crashing out at home  at the TT Circuit Assen, with the Dutchman giving it everything to try and win his first WorldSBK race.

“It was a really disappointing end of the day but it was a really exciting race,” said van der Mark. “Superpole was the first time on track in dry conditions and for the Race it was just a gamble for everybody! We had such a nice fight with Tom, Jonathan and Chaz. I knew I had good pace but I just couldn’t pass them for the lead. When I finally passed Jonathan I made a small mistake so he passed me back again. I knew I could have him in the last sector and I saw my chance to win the race but I had a little moment out of T2, hit the brake into T3 and then lost it. I’ve never felt so disappointed, but to come back after the race and hear everyone cheering for me is really motivating for tomorrow.

"My race start was not the best and I stayed calm in the first couple of laps, then I built up some good speed and had a nice battle at the front with Chaz Davies and especially with Jonathan Rea. I felt I was much quicker in some areas but I was also losing a bit of ground at the exit of turn 5. I knew I had the pace to at least be on the podium but I wanted to win, so I was planning to attack at some point in the last two laps.”

The 2014 WorldSSP Champion is having an eventful weekend at his home round, where last year he scored two podiums, having also suffered two crashes on Friday. The Dutchman is determined to put things right in Race 2 on Sunday, and added, "We know what to change for tomorrow and hopefully we can make up what we lost today."