VOL. 51 ISSUE 38 SEPTEMBER 23, 2014 P23
two rounds to spare. Van der
Mark is no stranger to the Hon-
da CBR1000RR he will race the
next two years as he has been a
part of the winning Honda team
for the past two years in the pres-
tigious Suzuka 8 Hours.
"I'm really, really happy with
this next step," said van der
Mark. "It's been going in two-year
stages for me with the team, so
this next stage in World Super-
bikes is fantastic and really excit-
ing. It's a good and safe place
to be with Honda for 2015 and
2016. I've had a great experi-
ence with this team for the last
two years and there was never
really any question that I would
be going anywhere else. World
Superbikes in 2015 is going to be
really interesting – there are new
technical regulations and I think
there will be a few surprises next
year. Although the electronics will
be a big change for me, I have
shown that I can ride a superbike
and now I really can't wait to get
started."
Van der Mark has two more
World Supersport races to com-
pete in this year before he will
start a winter testing program
on the CBR1000RR. This year's
Pata Honda team consists of
Jonathan Rea and Leon Haslam.
Haslam is rumored to be head-
ing to a privateer Ducati team and
Rea has yet to sign a deal for next
year.
"In a way, I'm a little sad that
we have to let Michael go from
his contract with Ten Kate Rac-
ing for 2015," said team manag-
er Ronald ten Kate. "But in re-
ality, I am absolutely happy and
proud that he has been given
this fantastic opportunity with
Honda. There is now a clear
plan and vision to grow his im-
pressive talent in the future. We
have been working with Michael
now for four years – two in Su-
perstock 600 and two in World
Supersport – so this next step
for him feels completely natural.
He fully deserves this chance
and we are all looking forward to
taking these next steps together
with him."
TESTING SEASON IN FULL SWING
T
he motocross/Supercross
racing season might be over,
but the work never ends for the
factory racers. This is the time of
year when many of them head for
the nearby tracks to get a head
start on testing and training for
the upcoming new racing sea-
son, which, in a way, gets start-
ed next month with the Monster
Energy Cup - the one-off race
that many of the teams and rac-
ers use as a gauge for their test-
ing progress for the start of the
2015 Monster Energy AMA Su-
percross Series.
Many of those riders who have
been burning up the laps in the
Southern California area include
Monster Energy Kawasaki's Davi
Millsaps and Rockstar Energy
Zach Osborne
has been
getting used
to his new
Rockstar
Energy
Husqvarna
FC250.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
KIT
PALMER
AND
ANDREW
BUCHEN
continued on page 24
