VAN DER MARK'S HONDA CBR600RR
RACER TEST
P54
performance is also remarkable,
worthy of a Superbike of not so
many years ago, although I never
got a true sixth gear on the trun-
cated Assen circuit now in use.
"The Kawasaki and MV are
both better at low revs than the
Honda, which is why I have the
throttle pickup so aggressive to
try to counter that," said van der
Mark as we bench-raced after-
wards. "I ride to the shifter light
and try to never hit the limiter, be-
cause with no ride by wire this is
a hard-action cutout, so you lose
momentum when you do. But we
have better midrange than the
others, and our bike has been
the fastest all year on top speed
in spite of me being so tall and
riding with my elbows out, which I
can't help. They must be stream-
lined from birth."
Van der Mark's stance is in-
deed unusual, with his 600 Hon-
da set up with a noticeably taller
ride height than Johnny Rea's
Superbike I rode the same day,
and high-set footpegs in spite of
his long legs that are, however,
quite a long way back. This re-
sults in a semi-prone stretched
out stance that I guess is how he
makes himself so aerodynamic.
"I always sit low down in the
bike – it comes from my Aprilia
125 Junior Cup days 10 years ago
when I was just a kid, where you
had to work on being as aerody-
namic as possible on what was
quite a slow bike," says van der
Mark. "My style is to hang off the
bike in a turn, but stay low down
and lean forward, which helps
counter wheelies."
Halfway around the first lap at
Assen on the World Champion
Honda, I'd already remembered
why I enjoy riding these bikes so
much: you're in charge, not the
bike itself, like on a MotoGP mon-
ster, or even some Superbikes.
This means you can delight in rid-
ing the wheels off it to the best
of your ability, and be rewarded in
terms of enjoyment and lap times
by the result.
The bike delivers a thrilling 147
horsepower-plus in a 347-pound
half-dry package and it brings per-
The combination of van
der Mark and the Ten
Kate-built CBR gave
Honda its 10
th
World
Supersport title.
