Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) looks to have broken the spell of bad form he was suffering from across the last several rounds of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship after landing a pair of fifth-place results to close out the weekend. While last year’s wet-conditions victory may have been more dramatic, these results have arrived like rain after a drought for the Dutchman.

POSITIVE MEMORIES: “We could have had two P5s, but to pull out this result on Sunday, along with the great battles, it was really nice to be here”

A pair of fifth-place finishes in a field as strong as 2025’s is a strong outcome; however, it perhaps doesn’t sufficiently illustrate the heights of van der Mark’s form in France, as he was running up in the front five in Race 1 as well. He did well to qualify in the front three rows in Friday’s Tissot Superpole session, setting the table for his Race 1 charge. Charge he did, as by the end of Lap 1 he was already up into P5 behind Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) and ahead of Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team). While he made an error first in Turn 8 and later on in Turn 5, ending his race, the results he went on to land reminded the paddock that while form is temporary, class is permanent.

On his weekend overall, and briefly on his Race 1 crash, van der Mark said: “It was a very strong weekend; I’ve been feeling good with the bike. On Saturday in Race 1, I got a little too excited and dumped it twice, which was very stupid on my part. Before that, we were fighting for P5. We could have had two P5S, but pulling out this result on Sunday, along with the great battles, made it really nice to be here.

ON HIS BMW TEAM: “They always stayed calm and believed in me, they knew the speed was there, and after today, I showed them, and myself again”

The Dutchman’s 2025 season has looked like a frustrating endeavour for the 32-year-old Dutch rider. After ending the 2024 season on a strong trajectory and on the podium in the final race alongside his teammate and Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) at the team launch event before the season, spirits were clearly high. After a rough season debut at Phillip Island, his form improved at Portimao and Cremona. However, the four-round stretch from Most to Balaton proved very challenging for the #60, resulting in four crashes and only one top ten finish. At Magny-Cours, however, he looks to have righted the ship, setting the table for what could be another strong finish to the season for ‘Mickey’

On what has changed for the Dutchman, van der Mark said: “A lot of people have said that I lost it, clearly, I haven’t. We worked very hard with the team, discussing various ideas and testing out many different approaches. The summer break also helped a lot as a reset. Sometimes, it can be tough in this Championship, so having a good team behind you is important because they always keep pushing and working. They always stayed calm and believed in me; they knew the speed was there, and after today, I showed them, and myself again.”

How will van der Mark fare in his final rounds of 2025? Tune in and find out with the WorldSBK VideoPass - now only €9.99