As Day 2 drew to a close at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto and riders looked to put in a flying lap on the SCQ tyre, there was drama heading into the final corner between two former teammates. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) had a coming together at the Turn 13 left-hand hairpin as they looked to follow van der Mark’s teammate, Toprak Razgatlioglu, through the final run of the day as MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship teams tested in Spain.
With Razgatlioglu leading the trio around the track, both van der Mark and Redding were looking to be in position to follow the #54 around a flying lap as all three looked to improve their lap times but also understand how the bike behaves with the SCQ tyre on. While Razgatlioglu was able to stay in front, the squabbling started behind him with van der Mark and Redding fighting over track position which resulted in some small contact between the pair. After the day concluded, both riders gave their thoughts on the incident.
“I WANT TO TRY TO FOLLOW TOPRAK; I WANT TO LEARN”: Redding on the van der Mark incident
Explaining the incident from his point of view, Redding stated he was trying to follow Razgatlioglu to learn. He said: “The two factory guys went out in front, and obviously I want to try to follow Toprak; I want to learn, I want to see. I passed van der Mark twice already on the lap and he passed me back, it was one of those things. He was desperate to stay there, I was desperate to stay there. I passed him into Turn 9, he passed me back and I passed him into T11. In the last corner, he tried to outbrake me on the outside; it was a risky move. Crazy to do that, if I were him, I would’ve just accepted it and followed me. Then we went up to Turn 1, I went for a late entry, and he just went up the inside, so it ruined my first lap on the SCQ. I took it easy, was able to build some momentum and push again at the end and set my best lap. Overall, it worked out well for me. Times are tight and everyone wants to be there with the best. It wasn’t me trying to be an idiot, I just wanted to follow the best like I did last year in Superpole. I did everything I could to be behind the best in Superpole. I wanted to see what my full potential was. We didn’t look to go out with them, we exited the box and they exited at the same time. I thought it was meant to be and to make the most of it, but it didn’t really happen but there’s no hard feelings from my side.”
“HE WANTED TO PROVE SOMETHING, PUT EVERYTHING ON INSTAGRAM TO SHOW WHO’S THE BEST” – van der Mark’s view…
When Redding’s view of the incident was put to van der Mark, the Dutchman said: “He did nothing wrong? Well, honestly, I went out and followed Toprak. All three of us went out on a SCQ and I wanted to take the tow of Toprak and I was almost in his arse. Scott decided to pass me halfway around the lap. I didn’t leave a gap between me and Toprak. He wanted to be between us. I passed him back again. At the last corner, he decided to dive up the inside again, hit me, and he messed up Turn 1 and then he messed up my first sector. There’s no rule for this, it’s just disrespectful. I have no words for this. It’s a test, not a race weekend. For himself, he wanted to prove something, put everything on Instagram again to show who’s the best and have a good night’s sleep. I tried to outbrake him on the outside before he hit me. I wanted to go in front again.”
“THIS IS REALLY STRANGE BECAUSE IT’S NOT A RACE WEEKEND”: Razgatlioglu gives his thoughts
Although he was ahead of the incident, Razgatlioglu was able to speak briefly about it, describing it as “really strange” as it’s only a test. He said: “In the last run, we did with Mikey, but Scott also joined, and he was fighting with Mikey a little bit. This is really strange because it’s not a race weekend, it’s a test. He tried to follow me, and, in the end, he made a good lap time.”
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Source: WorldSBK.com