van der Mark expects to ride Donington, Mackenzie on standby

Michael van der Mark says he is confident he will be given the green light to race in this weekend’s World Superbike Championship round at Donington Park despite undergoing wrist surgery only last week following his monster accident at Misano.

The Dutchman suffered the injury in a wild high-side during free practice for round seven of the championship, van der Mark forced to skip race day only two weeks’ after scoring his first win of the season for Pata Yamaha in Jerez.

However, despite predictions of an extended period out of action, van der Mark reveals he has already returned to training and believes the injury will give him no cause for concern on the R1 at Donington Park, where he was a double winner in 2018.

Nevertheless, Pata Yamaha is prepared for the eventuality of van der Mark playing it safe and has Yamaha’s British Superbike Championship title contender Tarran Mackenzie on standby to step-in if he needs to.

“I knew as soon as I'd had the surgery on the wrist that a return to racing at Donington Park was a possibility, so that's what I've been working towards since. I haven't lost any strength in the wrist, which was my main concern.

“The movement is still slightly restricted, but I've been having physiotherapy since Misano to improve this. It has hardly impacted on my training and I've been able to train with the same intensity as I did before the injury.

“So I hope to be passed fit to ride this weekend. It's good to have Tarran there on standby, as the medical assessment and actually racing the bike are two very different things. I will only really know if I'm fit to race, rather than just fit to ride, after FP1 on Friday."