Castol South Africa
Michael van der Mark stormed into the spotlight in 2014. At just 22 years of age, the Dutch motorcycle racer won the title in the Supersport World Championship - the official support class to the World Superbike Championship - on his Ten Kate Honda. Van der Mark is now ready to take the next step.
Castol South Africa
Racing for the Honda team run by his compatriot and sponsor Ronald ten Kate, Van der Mark has been putting his faith in the qualities of Castrol Power1 for years. They are now ready to step up into the World Superbike Championship together. Ten Kate has also fielded a team in this class for several years. Jonathan Rea and Leon Haslam were the men in the saddle for the 2014 season.
Van der Mark will contest his rookie season in the top class for production-based motorcycles as the team-mate of reigning world champion Sylvain Guintoli. The young Dutchman was given his first taste of what the Honda CBR1000RR is capable of at the initial tests in Jerez de la Frontera (Spain), before he lines up for his first race at the end of February.
"Developing young talent is important to Castrol. With two world champions in the team, Ten Kate Honda will be one to watch in 2015", says Castrol's Global Sponsorship Manager Donald Smith. "As Van der Mark finds his footing in WSBK, we expect Castrol Power1 to offer him maximum acceleration, performance and reliability along the way to make his transition as smooth as possible."
After winning the title in the Supersport World Championship, Van der Mark knows that he can call upon the best possible ingredients for success, in the form of the Ten Kate team's top-class material and the outstanding Castrol lubricants: "It is thanks to the support from Ronald ten Kate, Honda and Castrol that I have made it into the World Superbike Championship. We want to continue to progress in this manner together. I am really looking forward to my first season on a superbike."
