Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) and Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) head into the second half of season full of confidence, following a victory in the Suzuka 8 Hour over the summer break. Thrilled to return to the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, the duo are ready for a strong second half of 2017.

British rider Lowes has even more reasons to smile following the renewal of his contract with the Crescent Racing team, meaning he will stay with the Yamaha team in 2018. Hoping to close the gap to the front runners in the second half of the season, Lausitzring will prove a technical challenge, but himself and the team are ready to take on the Prosecco DOC German Round.

Lowes explains his delight to get back to racing action: "After a few weeks away from the World Superbike Championship I am looking forward to the Lausitzring race! I am still buzzing from winning the Suzuka 8 Hours and after a really positive test in Almeria, I am excited to be getting back to the racing action. I am also delighted to have extended my contract for the 2018 season with the team and hopefully, we can finish this year as strongly as possible. My goals are for a solid weekend to give us something to build on for the rest of 2017 as we try to close the gap to the guys at the front. It's a bit of a peculiar track at Lausitzring, it is quite bumpy and also has quite a technical layout. The whole team have been working really hard and haven't really had a summer break, so a big thanks to them too and I cannot wait to get back on track!"

Van der Mark also heads to the 4.244km circuit with a positive feeling following the stunning Suzuka 8 Hour win. With a positive and productive test undergone over the summer break, the Dutch rider will be hoping to continue the stunning form shown the last time the series was in Europe, where he led the race in Rimini before running into tyre problems. Excited to ride his R1 around Lausitzring for the first time, van der Mark is keen to get out on track. 

At the circuit where van der Mark crashed but still secured a top 10 finish, he's thrilled to return to the circuit: "I simply cannot wait to get back on track at the Lausitzring! It has been a busy summer break for us, but winning at Suzuka with Yamaha was incredible, plus we had a very positive test in Almeria last week, so I am excited to get back into action in Germany. I am also happy that my teammate has extended his contract for next season, which means we have another year of racing together! The Lausitzring is a different type of circuit and it presents a unique challenge, so it will be interesting to see how the R1 performs at the track, and after all the hard work the team have put in over the summer break I am excited to get back on the bike. We tested some new updates in Almeria and we hope that they will allow us to take the fight to our rivals for the rest of the season!"

Keep up with how the Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK team get on at Lausitzring, all with the WorldSBK VideoPass.